Posted on 01/18/2015 10:48:50 AM PST by george76
ALCO stores nationwide, including those in South Hutchinson and 21 other small Kansas communities, are closing.
The stores, which typically serve small towns with few other options for everything from clothing to housewares and groceries, began conducting going-out-of-business sales on Friday morning, a day after a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas authorized ALCO’s owners – Tiger Capital Group LLC, SB Capital Group LLC and Great American Group LLC – to begin doing so.
In all, 198 stores in 23 states will close, as will the 113-year-old discount retailer’s 352,000-square-foot distribution center in Abilene.
During the liquidation sale, the company plans to sell $260 million of inventory, fixtures and equipment.
...
ALCO, with headquarters in Coppell, Texas, also has stores in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
(Excerpt) Read more at hutchnews.com ...
I never heard of them
This is all unexpected since the economy is on a roaring upswing.
Sounds like a mid-tier discount house like the old Korvettes or Caldors.
More great news from the 0bama economy. More businesses are closing then opening.
Most ALCO stores are in low income areas, at least the ones I’ve seen.
We used to shop Alco in West Texas. It will be missed by those who have to travel 50 miles to shop in the nearest town.
I used to shop at the ones in Garden City and Dodge City, KS. They would often clear out stuff at a very good price. Also would have some good sales on guns.
I’m wondering if this type of store chain has lost a lot of market share to a chain like Dollar General. I’ve traveled through a lot of rural areas across the U.S. in the last few years, and I’m amazed at how many Dollar General stores I see in very small towns.
there are 6 DG stores within 10 miles of my rural home
Mini Walmarts
I too have noticed the dollar stores in really small towns. There is one in Ponce de Leon, FL and it is not much more than a place in the road. They do have schools tho.
I liken Alco to the original modestly-sized Walmarts found in rural towns. Too bad they’re gone.
I’m wondering if Dollar General is building their successful business model on some innovative supply chain management practices that help reduce their costs. They just opened a massive distribution center in eastern Pennsylvania about 150 miles west of New York City, and from its size and location I’m guessing they’re using it to serve all of their stores in a very large region.
Look up the following on Wikipedia:
List of defunct department stores of the United States
List of defunct retailers of the United States
List of defunct fast-food restaurant chains
List of defunct restaurants of the United States
According to the US Census Bureau,
Business startups outpaced business failures by about 100,000 per year until 2008. But in the past six years, that number suddenly reversed, and the net number of U.S. startups versus closures is minus 70,000.
This doesn’t surprise me. I have gone into the local one and never could find anything that I really wanted to buy. A lot of outdated electronic equipment, etc., and very little in the way of good deals in spite of the fact they portrayed them as such.
Dollar General is the way to grow a business. I always use them whenever possible as I don’t have to walk 10 miles like I have to in Wal-Mart. (Does anyone actually enjoy shopping at Wal-Mart?) That’s a rhetorical question.
But ALCO is a dinosaur and should be shut down. It had no future with its present configuration and that is what will also doom Radio Shack. The management is out of touch with the changing world. And that spells doom.
too bad about ALCO and those folks losing their jobs,
I have to wonder about how much Walmart is being impacted by the growing number of Dollar stores now in smaller communities? why drive 30+ miles if they have 90% of what you want just around the corner,
And I have lived in four of the states listed.
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