I agree with most of what you said, but I've never known Anchorage to have always been attractive to retailers.  When I moved here, my stepdad was NOT happy he couldn't buy Coors, for instance.  lol  Heck, we didn't even get TV shows until 2 weeks after the Lower 48.

No, Alaska is just now becoming more well-known to the Lower 48ers.  Why, these days, I can order something online and they'll not argue with me about Alaska being a country overseas!  ;)