Alco, a major US discount retailer, will be closing all its stores after filing for Chapter 11 protection in federal bankruptcy court on Oct. 12.
Founded in 1901, Alco is a broad-line retailer, primarily serving small underserved communities across 23 states in the US. After 113 years in business it will be going out of business.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas approved an order Friday authorizing Tiger Capital Group LLC, SB Capital Group LLC and Great American Group LLC to conduct “Going Out Of Business” sales in each of Alco’s 198 locations.
Daniel Kane, Managing Member of Tiger Capital Group, said:
“Alco’s humble beginning as a single variety store in 1901 began a path of growth fueled by a strategy of focusing on smaller communities throughout the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest while offering a wide selection of products at heavily discounted prices,”
Adding:
”In addition to the convenience of being able to shop locally, the chain distinguished itself by emphasizing the kind of friendly, personal service that small-town consumers expect. Unfortunately, many of Alco’s small-town customers were disproportionately impacted by the slow economy. These economic factors ultimately led to the difficult decision to liquidate all of Alco’s assets.”
“We know that thousands of shoppers rely on Alco for daily essentials such as groceries, housewares and domestics,” said Scott Carpenter, President of Great American Group’s Retail Solutions division. “We’ll keep these essentials fully-stocked for a limited time as we sell through all of the existing merchandise.”
Over $260 million of inventory, fixtures and equipment will be liquidated during the going out of business sale, which begins Friday, November 21. During the liquidation sale all Alco stores will maintain normal business hours.
Scott Bernstein, Chief Operating Officer of SB Capital Group, said:
“This event will offer consumers in Alco’s small-town markets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get extraordinary discounts on food and snack items, apparel and footwear for the family, housewares, health and beauty aids, hardware, electronics, seasonal items, toys, sporting goods, and so much more. This Going-Out-of-Business Sale is timed as such that Alco’s many loyal customers will realize significant savings as they do their holiday shopping.”
Alco stores, which are on average 25,000 square feet in size, are located across Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
The sale of its stores also means that thousands of people will be out of work. The typical Alco store employs between 30 to 40 workers.
