Belk To Bulk Up

Belk Inc. (Charlotte, N.C.), the 113-year-old Southeast department store chain, has announced an expansion plan for 2001 that will place new stores in Lake City, Fla.; Nacogdoches, Texas; and Shallotte, N.C.; open a relocated store in Winter Haven, Fla.; and renovate or expand stores in Wilmington, N.C.; Aiken and Anderson, S.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Asheville and Waynesville, N.C., and Roanoke and Harrisonburg, Va.

The Belk retail organization was founded by William Henry Belk in 1888, in Monroe, N.C. That first 1500-square-foot store, called the New York Racket, was started with about $1250 — $750 of Belk's personal savings and a $500 loan. (He paid the loan off in seven months with profits from his store.) The chain now has 210 units in 13 states, the biggest privately held department store chain in the U.S. The units operate primarily under the Belk or Belk Department Store nameplate, but there are others in the chain called Belk Park, Belk Lindsey, Belk Simpson, Belk Hudson, Belk Matthews, Belk-Rhodes, Gallant Belk, Belk Berry, Belk Yates, Harry Belk and several other names.