Alaska Commercial Company

Alaska Commercial Company

File:Alaska Commercial Company logo.png
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail / Grocery
Predecessor	Russian-American Company
Founded	1867 (1867)
Number of locations	33
Area served	Alaska
Services	Supermarket
Parent	The North West Company (1992–present)
Website	alaskacommercial.com

Alaska Commercial Company (ACC) is a retail and grocery business operating stores in rural regions of Alaska, with origins dating back to the early years of Alaska as a U.S. territory continuing to the present day. Between 1901 and 1992, it operated under the name Northern Commercial Company (NCC), before reverting to the Alaska Commercial Company title following acquisition by The North West Company in 1992.

History

Advertising guidebook cover from 1898 issued by the Alaska Commercial Company for travelers heading north during the Klondike Gold Rush

House flag used by the Alaska Commercial Company

Following the United States' acquisition of Alaska in 1867, Hutchison, Kohl & Company—comprising Hayward Hutchison, William Kohl, and Louis Sloss—purchased the assets of the Russian-American Company. In 1868, ownership transferred to Louis Sloss, Lewis Gerstle, and August Wassermann, although Hutchison, Kohl & Company remained active under the same proprietors until 1872 when the new entity completed payment for the acquisition. This restructured firm was known as the Alaska Commercial Company, maintaining operations under this name until 1901. Due to rising competition within the sealskin market that year, it merged with International Mercantile Marine Company and Alaska Goldfields, Ltd., resulting in two new entities: Northern Navigation Company and Northern Commercial Company. The original proprietors, including Louis Sloss and Lewis Gerstle, continued their business activities under Northern Commercial Company. Soon after, W.J. Erskine acquired some former vessels of the Alaska Commercial Company and established a modest successor operation in select Alaskan regions.

From 1868 through 1922, Northern Commercial Company managed village retail outlets throughout Alaska, notably during the Klondike Gold Rush (1897–1899). These establishments frequently functioned as local courthouses and post offices. Given limited cash circulation, barter was common; customers traded gold, fish, and furs for goods. These stores often became focal points for communities, fostering settlement growth around them.

In 1922, ownership of Northern Commercial Company transferred to employee investors who relocated its headquarters to Seattle. The company expanded its footprint by launching department stores, automobile dealerships, and tire outlets within Alaskan urban centers and emerged as a leading provider of heavy machinery and equipment statewide. By 1975, its department stores were divested to Nordstrom, while Goodyear tire outlets were sold to Bandag. The original name was revived in 1977 when remaining rural stores were rebranded as Alaska Commercial Company (ACC) and subsequently sold to Alaska's Community Enterprise Development Corporation (CEDC). In November 1992, CEDC divested these stores to The North West Company, a Canadian retailer primarily serving northern communities. Presently, ACC operates 33 retail locations across 30 remote villages in Alaska. Meanwhile, Northern Commercial retained its heavy equipment division which continues operations under the name NC Machinery.

See also

• Maritime fur trade

Further reading

• Kitchener, Lois Delano. Flag over the North: the story of the Northern Commercial Company. Seattle, Washington: Superior Publishing Company, 1954.
• Sloss, Frank H. "Who Owned the Alaska Commercial Company?." Pacific Northwest Quarterly 68, no. 3 (1977): 120–130. Online

External links

• Official website
• Online Ordering
• Facebook Page
• Alaska Commercial Company Records, 1868-1940 (18 linear feet, held at the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at Stanford University Libraries)
• Alaska Commercial Company Records, MSS 234. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
• The Department Store Museum, Northern Commercial, Anchorage, Alaska