Alaska Commercial Company facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Retail / Grocery |
| Predecessor | Russian-American Company |
| Founded | 1867 |
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Number of locations
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33 |
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Area served
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| Services | Supermarket |
| Parent | The North West Company (1992–present) |
The Alaska Commercial Company (ACC) is a company that runs grocery and other stores in small towns across Alaska. It has been around since the United States first bought Alaska. For a long time, from 1901 to 1992, it was called the Northern Commercial Company (NCC). In 1992, it went back to being the Alaska Commercial Company. Today, it is owned by The North West Company.
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History of the Alaska Commercial Company
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After the United States bought Alaska in 1867, a company called Hutchison, Kohl & Company bought the Russian-American Company. This new company included people like Hayward Hutchison, William Kohl, and Louis Sloss.
In 1868, Louis Sloss, Lewis Gerstle, and August Wassermann bought this company. They formed a new business called the Alaska Commercial Company. This company operated under this name until 1901.
Changes and New Names
By 1901, there was a lot of competition in the sealskin trade. Because of this, the Alaska Commercial Company joined with two other companies. These were the International Mercantile Marine Company and Alaska Goldfields, Ltd. Together, they formed two new companies: the Northern Navigation Company and the Northern Commercial Company.
The original owners of the Alaska Commercial Company, like Louis Sloss, continued their business. They used the new name, the Northern Commercial Company. Soon after, a person named W.J. Erskine bought some of the old Alaska Commercial Company boats. He started a smaller version of the company in certain parts of Alaska.
Stores in Alaskan Villages
The Northern Commercial Company ran stores in Alaskan villages from 1868 to 1922. This included the time of the Klondike Gold Rush (1897–1899). These stores were very important. They often served as the village courthouse and even the post office.
Many people did not have cash back then. So, a lot of trade in the stores happened through bartering. This means people traded items like gold, fish, and furs for goods. The stores were often the center of small communities. Many communities grew bigger because of these important stores.
Modern Era of the Company
In 1922, a group of employees bought the Northern Commercial Company. They moved its main office to Seattle. The company then started opening department stores, car dealerships, and tire stores in Alaska's cities. It also became a major supplier of heavy equipment and machinery in Alaska.
By 1975, the Northern Commercial Company sold its department stores to Nordstrom. Its Goodyear tire stores were sold to another company called Bandag. In 1977, the old name, the Alaska Commercial Company (ACC), was brought back for the stores. The remaining eleven rural stores were sold to the Community Enterprise Development Corporation (CEDC) of Alaska.
In November 1992, the CEDC sold these stores to The North West Company. This is a Canadian company that mainly serves communities in northern areas. Today, the Alaska Commercial Company (ACC) has 33 stores in 30 remote villages across Alaska. The heavy equipment part of the business still operates under the name NC Machinery.
See also
