Belk

Belk, Inc.

Type	Private
Industry	Retail
Predecessor	Belk Brothers
Founded	1888 (Monroe, North Carolina, United States)
Founder	William Henry Belk
Headquarters	Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Number of locations	300 (February 2014)
Key people	Lisa Harper (CEO)
Products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares.
Revenue	$4.0 billion (FY 2014)
Owner	Sycamore Partners
Number of employees	24,700 (2014 Annual Report)
Website	www.belk.com

Belk, Inc. (stylized as belk) is an American department store chain founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina with 300 locations in 16 states. Belk stores and Belk.com offer apparel, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings and wedding registry.

Belk was founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The store was first called "New York Racket" and then "Belk Brothers," after Belk made his brother, physician Dr. John Belk, his partner. Belk bought in volume to pass savings on and sold at fixed prices, then a relatively unusual practice.

By 1909, the company had moved its headquarters to Charlotte and built a huge flagship store on Trade and Tryon Streets in downtown Charlotte, which would remain the company's headquarters until it was closed in 1988 to make way for the construction of what is now Bank of America Corporate Center. The business grew steadily, relying on "bargain sales" and advertising to grow the business and increase its influence throughout the South.

Beginning in 1921 with the Leggett Bros. stores of South Boston, Virginia, the Belk company grew by investing in various partnerships with local merchandisers in nearby markets. This complex story is chronicled in a book published by Belk – Belk, Inc.: The Company and the Family That Built It – about the evolution of the company.

This structure allowed Belk to expand quickly and permitted local variation, but resulted in a diluted brand identity since most stores were co-branded. By the 1990s, the system had become increasingly untenable: stores were held by over 350 separate legal entities, Belk family members disagreed about whether to maintain or sweep away the structure, and some local partners threatened stability by selling their stakes. For example, the heirs of John G. Parks, majority owners of the Parks-Belk chain, sold their interests to Proffitt's, a competitor. The Belks quickly sold their stake as well, although Belk would later purchase the stores back as part of its later acquisition of the entire Proffitt's chain. When Proffitt's made an offer for the Leggett family's stake, which included 42 stores comprising about 20 percent of Belk's revenue, John and Tom Belk were forced to respond by forming a new company in 1996 that bought the Leggetts out. This move accelerated the slow trend of consolidating the store's ownership under the Belks.