Alaska Commercial Company

Last updated
Alaska Commercial Company
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Retail / Grocery
Predecessor Russian-American Company
Founded1867(157 years ago) (1867)
Number of locations
33
Area served
Services Supermarket
Parent The North West Company (1992–present)
Website alaskacommercial.com

Alaska Commercial Company (ACC) is a grocery and retail company which operates stores in rural Alaska, beginning in the early period of Alaska's ownership by the United States into the present. [1] From 1901 to 1992, it was known as the Northern Commercial Company (NCC), and in 1992 it resumed business as the Alaska Commercial Company under the ownership of The North West Company.

Contents

History

Cover of an 1898 advertising guidebook issued by the Alaska Commercial Company for those travelling north as part of the Klondike Gold Rush Alaska Commercial Company 1898 cover.jpg
Cover of an 1898 advertising guidebook issued by the Alaska Commercial Company for those travelling north as part of the Klondike Gold Rush
House flag of Alaska Commercial Company House Flag of Alaska Commercial Company (till 1901).svg
House flag of Alaska Commercial Company

After the 1867 purchase of Alaska by the United States, the firm of Hutchison, Kohl & Company, including Hayward Hutchison, William Kohl, and Louis Sloss, bought the Russian-American Company. In 1868, Sloss, Lewis Gerstle, and August Wassermann bought this company, although Hutchison, Kohl & Company was in simultaneous existence and under the same ownership until 1872, when the new company paid off the purchase. [2] This new company, formed in 1868, was called the Alaska Commercial Company, [3] and did business under this name until 1901. In that year, because of increasing competition in the sealskin trade, the Alaska Commercial Company merged with the International Mercantile Marine Company and Alaska Goldfields, Ltd., to form two new companies, the Northern Navigation Company and the Northern Commercial Company. The original owners of the Alaska Commercial Company, Louis Sloss, Gerstle, etc. carried on the business under the name of the Northern Commercial Company. Shortly afterwards, W.J. Erskine bought some of the old Alaska Commercial Company boats and set up a small successor to the Company in certain areas of Alaska.

The Northern Commercial Company operated village stores in Alaska from 1868 to 1922, including during the Klondike Gold Rush (1897–1899). The stores often served as the village courthouse and post office as well. Much trade in the stores was bartered, as few people had cash. The stores accepted such items as gold, fish and furs in exchange for merchandise. The stores were often the nucleus of small communities and communities often grew because of the stores.

In 1922, the Northern Commercial Company was sold to a group of employees, who moved the headquarters to Seattle. It opened department stores, auto dealerships, and tire stores in Alaska's cities, and became a major supplier of heavy equipment and machinery in Alaska. By 1975 the Northern Commercial Company sold its department stores to Nordstrom. The Goodyear tire stores were sold to Bandag. In 1977 the old name, the Alaska Commercial Company (ACC) was reintroduced to the stores and the remaining eleven rural stores were sold to the Community Enterprise Development Corporation (CEDC) of Alaska . [4] In November 1992, the CEDC sold the stores in turn to The North West Company, [5] a Canadian retailer mainly serving northern communities. [6] ACC now has 33 stores in 30 remote Alaska Villages. Northern Commercial retained the heavy equipment division, which continues to operate under the name NC Machinery. [7]

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osco Drug and Sav-on Drugs</span> Retail pharmacy chains in the United States

Osco Drug and Sav-on Drugs were the names of a pair of chain pharmacies that operated in the United States. Osco Drug was founded by the Skaggs family. Alpha Beta grocery store was purchased by American Stores in 1961. Skaggs Drug Centers bought American Stores in 1979 and assumed the American Stores name. Sav-on Drugs was a California-based pharmacy chain that was acquired by Osco's parent company in 1980. Both Osco and Sav-on stores eventually came under the ownership of American Stores, then Albertsons, and finally SuperValu before the stores were sold off.

Mervyn's was an American middle-scale department store chain based in Hayward, California, and founded by Mervin G. Morris (1920–2021). It carried national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, bath products, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, toys, and housewares. Many of the company's stores were opened in shopping malls; however, some locations were operated independently. Based on 2005 revenue, Mervyn's was the 83rd largest retailer in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kohl's</span> American department store chain

Kohl's is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. It currently has 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawaii. The company was founded by Polish immigrant Maxwell Kohl, who opened a corner grocery store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1927. It went on to become a successful chain in the local area, and in 1962 the company branched out by opening its first department store. British American Tobacco Company took a controlling interest in the company in 1972 while still managed by the Kohl Family, and in 1979, the corporation was sold to BATUS Inc. A group of investors purchased the company in 1986 from British American Tobacco and took it public in 1992.

Black Press Group Ltd. is a Canadian commercial printer and newspaper publisher headquartered in Surrey, British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hook's Drug Stores</span>

Hook's Drug Stores was an Indianapolis, Indiana-based drug store chain which was founded in 1900 by John A. Hook. The chain flourished throughout central Indiana for most of the 20th-century.

Longs Drugs is an American chain owned by parent company CVS Health with approximately 70 drugstores throughout the state of Hawaii and formerly in the Continental US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The North West Company</span> Canada-based multinational grocery and retail company

The North West Company is a multinational Canadian grocery and retail company which operates stores in Canada's western provinces and northern territories, as well as the US states of Alaska, Hawaii, and several other countries and US territories in Oceania and the Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batus Inc.</span> US subsidiary of British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco US, mostly known for its acronym BATUS, was the US subsidiary of multinational company British American Tobacco (BAT), the world's second largest cigarette manufacturer. BATUS served as the U.S. holding company for BAT. In the 1960s, the company diversified into areas such as insurance, drink, and retail.

NANA Regional Corporation, Inc. (NANA) is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of Alaska Native land claims. NANA was incorporated in Alaska on June 7, 1972. NANA is a for-profit corporation with a land base in the Kotzebue area in northwest Alaska. Its corporate office is in Kotzebue, Alaska. NANA's Alaska Native shareholders are of Inupiat descent.

The 13th Regional Corporation is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of Indigenous land claims. It was incorporated in Alaska on December 31, 1975. The 13th Regional Corporation is a for-profit corporation presently headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with approximately 5,500 Alaska Native shareholders of Eskimo, American Indian, and Aleut descent. Its original enrollment was of Alaska Natives who were no longer resident in Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westport, Baltimore</span> Neighborhood of Baltimore in Maryland, United States

Westport is a neighborhood in south Baltimore, Maryland. Westport is a majority African-American neighborhood that has struggled with crime, housing abandonment, and unemployment in the past decade. The neighborhood is bordered by the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River on the east, the city neighborhoods of Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and the southwestern Baltimore County community of Lansdowne to the southwest, Hollins Ferry Road and the Mount Winans and Lakeland neighborhoods to the west, and Interstate 95 to the north, along with the South Baltimore communities of Federal Hill and Otterbein. The Baltimore–Washington Parkway runs through the middle of Westport and intersects with Interstate 95, the main East Coast super-highway, north to south, Maine to Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franchise Group</span> American holding company

Franchise Group, Inc. is an American privately-held holding company that acquires and manages mainly franchise companies. It owns brands in various retail industries including American Freight, Buddy's Home Furnishings, The Vitamin Shoppe, Pet Supplies Plus, Sylvan Learning and Badcock Home Furniture.

Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation, or UIC, is one of about 200 Alaska Native village corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of aboriginal land claims. Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation was incorporated in Alaska on April 19, 1973. Located in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation is a for-profit corporation whose Alaska Native shareholders are primarily of Iñupiat Eskimo descent.

Les Schwab Tire Centers is a tire retail chain operating in the western United States. Founded in 1952, the company is named for founder Les Schwab and is headquartered in the Central Oregon city of Bend. The private company employs over 7,000 people in nine western states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanger Inc.</span> American real estate investment trust

Tanger Inc. is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, that invests in shopping centers containing upscale outlet stores in the United States and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Campus Communities</span> American real estate investment trust

American Campus Communities, Inc. (ACC) is the largest developer, owner and manager of student housing communities in the United States. It is headquartered in Bee Cave, Texas, with an Austin postal address.

Era Aviation was a fixed wing airline as well as a commercial helicopter operation based in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. It operated a network of scheduled fixed wing passenger services from Anchorage as well as from Bethel, AK on behalf of Alaska Airlines via a code sharing agreement. Its main base was located at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC). Era Aviation has since been renamed Corvus Airlines who currently do business as Ravn Alaska. The company slogan was FlySmart. FlyEra.

Whittwood Town Center is a 65-acre open-air shopping center in Whittier, Southeast Los Angeles County, California, located on the southwest corner of Whittier Boulevard and Santa Gertrudes Avenue.

The history of the Jews in Alaska began before the Alaska Purchase in 1867. Jews from Imperial Russia lived there periodically as fur traders, and a Jewish community has existed since the 1880s. The Klondike and Nome gold rushes attracted Jews to Alaska to seek their fortunes as miners and businessmen and resulted in the first organized Jewish communities. In the Nazi period, Jewish refugee resettlement in Alaska was seriously considered by the government, but after facing backlash, never came to be. Alaskan Jews played a significant role in business and politics before and after statehood, and have included mayors, judges, senators and governors. Today, there are Jews living in every urban area of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Sloss</span> German-born American businessman

Louis Sloss Sr. was an American businessman who co-founded the Alaska Commercial Company.

References

  1. MarketScreener. "North West : 2021/04/28 - Alaska Commercial Company delivers 3.3 million of fresh food to 115 communities | MarketScreener". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  2. Jul 22, Mike Swasey |; Stories, 2021 | Featured; News | 0 (2021-07-23). "Skagway's Fairway Market sold to regional chain | KHNS Radio | KHNS FM" . Retrieved 2021-08-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. Kelly, Jacques. "Allan D. Gallant, an accountant who worked to get supermarkets in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, dies". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  4. "Alaska Commercial selling" . Daily News-Miner. 1977-09-15. p. 2 via NewspaperARCHIVE.
  5. The North West Company, Inc. (2021-06-09). "The North West Company Inc. Announces Voting Results of its Annual Meeting of Shareholders". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  6. HumanisRx. "HumanisRx signs agreement with The North West Company to provide Proactive Medication Optimization". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  7. About Us