Duckwall-Alco realignment: Will close Duckwall stores, change name

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 11/29/2010 1:05:00 PM

Abilene, Kan. - Midwestern retailer Duckwall-Alco will shift its focus to the Alco nameplate, closing 44 Duckwall units and changing its corporate name to Alco Stores.

Alco units, now numbering 214 stores in 23 states, generate higher returns, the company said in a statement. Duckwall stores, which tend to average 6,755 square feet, "account for only 3.9% of sales and little or no profit," said Rich Wilson, company president and ceo.

Alco stores average 25,446 square feet. Over the past eight months, the company has upgraded the Alco store base, adding wider aisles and better lighting, expanding to food assortment and improving the merchandise mix.

Only one of the Duckwall units will reopen as an Alco.