ABILENE, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas-based retailer Duckwall-Alco is dropping the Duckwall from its name as the multistate chain moves away from its five-and-dime store roots.

The company said in a news release Thursday that starting July 6, it will go by the name Alco Stores Inc. and change its ticker symbol on NASDAQ to ALCS. The change was finalized at a shareholder meeting Wednesday.

The 111-year-old company focuses on serving small towns and has headquarters in Abilene. Early on, Duckwall customers could purchase most everything for either 5 or 10 cents.

The company began discussing the name change in November 2010, when it announced plans to close its 44 Duckwall stores and reallocate resources to the larger Alco stores. It now operates 216 stores in 23 states.