HAZEN - A company that does nearly $450 million in annual sales in small towns from Canada to Texas, not in "big box" store cities, is expanding its territory in North Dakota.

ALCO Stores Inc. will open stores in Hazen and Oakes next month and in Bowman in February.

There's street talk of one opening in New Town, but a company vice president said he had no comment on that location and it's not under construction.

The discount, multi-department stores that are opening reflect the company's penchant for getting into markets and trade areas under 5,000 population.

Vice president Jim Schoenbeck said ALCO's real estate staff looks for locations that are "underserved," meaning the location has economic potential, but not enough to attract a giant discounter, like Wal-Mart or Kmart.

Schoenbeck said ALCO opens new stores every year. This is an expansion year, with 20 new stores to add to the 253 stores it already has in 21 states, he said.

Most stores are ALCOs, but 61 are Duckwall stores, a smaller, variety store division of the company. It's headquartered in Abilene, Kan., and Al Duckwall's original company dates back to 1901.

A smaller Duckwall will close when ALCO opens in Bowman.

The stores will bring changes to the communities' business flow.

In Hazen, other retailers say they're looking forward to the added shopping opportunity for customers, even if it does mean competition for them in some departments.

Now, the closest discount retailer is Pamida in Beulah.

Ken Hellmuth, owner of Hazen Hardware Hank, said he expects ALCO will make the community stronger, drawing in business from people who don't shop in town now.

"Are they going to compete? Yes," Hellmuth said. He said he'll make adjustments in his own store and anticipates the boost in traffic will be good for all businesses.

Dallas Speidel, owner of a plaza-type store with clothing, flooring and furniture one block down from Hardware Hank, said Hazen retailers recruited the company some years back. "We felt we needed that kind of draw," Speidel said.

Schoenbeck said he couldn't say why ALCO didn't make a Hazen move at that time and is now.

It's likely the decision was boosted in part by the fact that North Dakota is in the fifth year of sustained economic expansion.

On Wednesday, the state tax department announced second-quarter taxable sales purchases were more than $2.5 billion, up $183 million from the same quarter last year, marking the 17th continual quarter of growth.

Each of the counties where ALCO is opening stores reported increases as well, from 2 percent in Mercer County, where Hazen is located, to 12 percent in Dickey County, where Oakes is located.

In Hazen this week, the ALCO store was a scene of controlled chaos with semis unloading pallets of merchandise and employees unpacking cartons and shelving everything from televisions to toys.

Steve Sola will manage the Hazen store and moved up from managing a Duckwall in Hettinger.

He said the store is the new company prototype in color (black and purple) and size, with 21,000 square feet of retail space. It was constructed by PACES Lodging, of Fargo, in just more than 12 weeks rather than 16 weeks.

ALCO will lease the building.

He said the store will open Nov. 8. He was still looking for five to 10 more employees as of Monday, to fill out the 25 to 30 full- and part-timers he needs to staff the store seven days a week, plus evenings.

He said employees are eligible for benefits, including vacation, retirement and health insurance and basic positions start at $6 an hour.

There are other ALCO stores in Carrington, Rolla, Langdon, Lisbon, Mayville and Grafton.

The company's publicly traded stock is listed on NASDAQ with shares just more than $36 Friday. Annual revenue this year is listed at $475 million, compared to $433 in 2006.

(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511 or lauren@westriv.com.)