Alco Stores in Chamberlain, Miller, Redfield, Wagner and Mobridge will close sometime after today/Friday, the company announced Thursday.

After 113 years, the discount retailer focused on serving consumers in smaller communities is closing its doors forever.

Alco said the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas approved an order Thursday 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 in 23 states. More than $260 million of inventory, fixtures and equipment will be liquidated during the sale, which begins Friday, Nov. 21.

One of the capital groups involved in Alco blamed the Great Recession for the upcoming closures.

"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," said Daniel Kane, managing member of Tiger Capital Group. "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."

On Oct. 12, 2014, Alco filed for Chapter 11 protection in federal bankruptcy court in the Northern District of Texas.

Alco says current markdowns and clearance items will also have additional discounts. The sale will continue until all merchandise has been sold.

Alco stores, which average 25,000 square feet in size, are located in 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.

All stores will maintain their normal business hours during this liquidation sale. Cash and major credit cards will be accepted.

In addition to the liquidation of merchandise inventories, fixtures and equipment from all 198 stores, assets from the company's 352,000-square-foot distribution center in Abilene, Kansas will also be sold.

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