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Introduction

2801 West Tyvola Road
Charlotte, North Carolina 28217-4500
U.S.A.
Telephone: (704) 357-1000
Toll Free: (866) 235-5443
Fax: (704) 357-1876
Web site: http://www.belk.com

Private Company
Incorporated: 1891 as Belk Brothers Company
Employees: 17,900
Sales: $2.45 billion (2005)
NAIC: 452110 Department Stores

Belk, Inc., is the largest privately held department store chain in the United States. The company is headquartered in Charlotte in the middle of its traditional stronghold of North and South Carolina. While it has flagship stores at large malls, the company has opened many stores in smaller cities. In all, there are 225 Belk stores in 14 states.

Belk, Inc. was formed in 1998 from a network of more than 100 separate businesses that had been built up over the previous century. Still operated by descendants of the founding Belk brothers, Belk is one of the few large family-owned retail entities remaining in the United States. Though privately held, Belk, Inc. has filed earnings statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission since its 1998 restructuring because it has some public debt.

1. Introduction
2. Late 19th-Century Origins
3. Rapid Expansion Begins in the Early 20th Century
4. Opportunistic Growth During the Great Depression
5. Second Generation of Managers in the Postwar Era
6. Modernization Program Begins in the 1960s
7. Company Perspectives:
8. Transitions in the 1990s
9. Belk, Inc. Formed in 1998
10. Expanding in 2000 and Beyond
11. Key Dates:
12. Principal Subsidiaries
13. Principal Divisions
14. Principal Competitors
15. Further Reading
16. Copyright Page
17. About Page