Duckwall-ALCO Retail Stores

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The American Locomotive Company was also known as ALCO.

Duckwall-ALCO Stores

Type	Discount store
Founded	1901
Headquarters	Abilene, Kansas
Industry	Retail
Products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, market, housewares.
Website	http://www.duckwall.com/

Duckwall-ALCO Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: DUCK) is a small retail chain operating in 21 states in the US Midwest, founded in 1901 in Kansas by A.L. Duckwall.

1 History
2 Acquisitions
3 ALCO Locations
4 DUCKWALL Locations
5 Former locations
6 External links
7 References

[edit] History

In its early years the company operated five and dime (or "variety") stores called Duckwall's. In 1968 it began to move into the discount retail business and opened stores that were bigger than their five and dime counterparts called ALCO. ALCO stores (somewhat smaller than a non-supercenter Wal-Mart) provide the full selection of merchandise offered by the Company, while the Duckwall stores provide a limited selection.

In 1985, after three acquisitions, the company went through a management-led leveraged buy-out. The company had 127 ALCO stores, and 33 Duckwalls in 14 states at that time.^[1]

In May 1989, Duckwall-ALCO filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, emerging in 1991 after securing financing from GE Capital, its primary creditor.^[2] At least 52 stores were closed during this period. After 1989 they switched to their current business strategy of targeting communities where no direct retail competitor existed (such as Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart). The strategy proved to be successful for Duckwall-ALCO and as of May 2007 there are 190 ALCO stores and 67 Duckwall stores.

The company previously experimented with a combination discount and food store called C.O.L.A. (Cost of Living Adjusters) in Mineral Well, Texas, which was discontinued.^[3] Recently, the Company has experimented with a supercenter concept, ALCO Market Place, by providing limited perishable goods. (There is only one store that is a ALCO Market Place in the United States) These stores are considerably smaller than Wal-Mart's or Target's supercenter stores.

The Company's headquarters, as well as their 352,000 square foot distribution center are all located in Abilene, Kansas.

[edit] Acquisitions

Duckwall-ALCO has grown through various acquisitions over the years.

1983 - Sterling Stores Co. Inc was acquired. Based in Little Rock, Arkansas, it operated 48 stores under the Sterling and Magic Mart names in Mississippi and Arkansas. ^[4] The majority of these stores were converted to either ALCO or Duckwall stores, though the Sterling nameplate was maintained until 2005 when the final Sterling store in Little Rock, Arkansas was closed.