Alco to Shutter All 198 Locations

Alco, a 113-year-old discount retailer, is shutting the doors to all of its 198 stores in 23 states. The retailer had previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Oct. 12, with plans to sell the stores with Tiger Capital Group, SB Capital Group and Great American Group acting as “Stalking Horse Liquidators.” 

The sale began Friday, Nov. 21, with more than $260 million in inventory, fixtures and equipment to be liquidated, after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas approved an order for the sale. The liquidation sale will offer discounts on the products’ lowest ticketed price, including already marked-down and clearance items. "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,” said Scott Bernstein, COO of SB Capital Group. The sale will continue until all merchandise has sold.

"We know that thousands of shoppers rely on Alco for daily essentials such as groceries, housewares and domestics," added 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 at discounted prices."

Alco, with an average store size of 25,000 square feet, grew through its focus on small communities in the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest with populations of less than 16,000 that were not served by regional or national chains. “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,” said Daniel Kane, managing member of Tiger Capital Group.

Assets from the 352,000-square-foot distribution center in Abilene, Kan., also will be sold. The closure will affect about 3,000 employees.