ALCO back in Grants
Store to employ 25

Esteban Valli repairs a crack in the floor of the new Alco Store Monday. Alco will open in the former TG &Y building located in the Lobo Canyon Mall in Grants. (Photo by Jerry Wilson/Independent)

By Tom Purdom
Staff Writer

GRANTS — After almost a five-year hiatus, Duckwall-ALCO Stores Inc. is coming back to Cibola County and it is bringing 25 jobs to the area according to Company Chief Financial Officer Dick Mansfield.

ALCO, headquartered in Abilene, Kan., is having the old TG&Y Store in La Mesa Mall Shopping Center fixed up for the move back to Grants.

ALCO pulled out of Grants in June 1999, which is around the time Wal-Mart opened its doors for the first time in Cibola County. While Mansfield said he will not comment on why ALCO moved out of Grants in the first place, he did say, "We have a different merchandise mix now than when we left."

"We believe our location will be convenient for our customers," Mansfield said, adding that the store will open in May, "If we stay on schedule." The schedule he referred to concerns the remodeling.

A news release states the store will stress convenience, friendliness and service by offering quality full-line general merchandise at discount prices. The release goes on to state that the store will have such merchandise as clothing, shoes, jewelry, non-prescription medicines, beauty aids, food, candy, greeting cards, school supplies, furniture, hardware, tools, paint, garden center goods, toys, sporting goods, pet supplies, automotive supplies, bedding, curtains, shades, crafts, housewares, appliances, china, glassware, stereos, television sets, CDs and DVDs, cameras, stationery and even sewing supplies.

Jim Schoenbeck, senior vice president of operations said it could be three to four weeks before the company will begin hiring. Schoenbeck said the majority of the new hires will come from the Grants area; however, the news release states that the store manager will be assigned to Grants from the company's existing management pool.

Asked what kind of salaries employees can expect to make, Mansfield said he would not comment on wages.

ALCO President Glen Shank said in a news release that company officials are confident the new store's merchandise selection, quality and prices will meet the needs of shoppers in Grants and the surrounding areas.

The store will get its stock from 350,000 square-feet ALCO Distribution Center in Abilene. Duckwall-ALCO Stores Inc., is a 104-year-old company with 186 ALCO Stores. In addition to the discount stores there are some 80 Duckwall variety stores located in 10 states. The stores are located in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. In new Mexico ALCO stores are in Kirtland, Bloomfield, Claton, Tucumcari, Moriarty, Belen, Socorro, Truth or Consequences, Lovington, Roswell, and soon, once again, in Grants.