Belk is a department store chain founded in 1888 in Monroe, North Carolina, today part of the Charlotte metropolitan area. After the founding of the first Belk store, the company grew in size and influence throughout the South via numerous partnerships and acquisitions over more than a century. The partnership-based corporations, numbering more than 100, were consolidated in 1998 into a single corporation based in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the company continues to be based. Belk is currently the largest privately held department store chain in the United States, with its stores primarily located in the Southern United States.

The chain has four flagship locations:

• SouthPark Mall, in Charlotte, North Carolina, houses the chain's largest store, with more than . The store was built in 1970 as one of the mall's original anchor stores. The mall was co-developed by the Belk and Ivey families.
• Crabtree Valley Mall. in Raleigh, North Carolina, is where Belk built a similarly elaborate store in 1972 (subsequently expanded to in 2007) in North Carolina's high-tech Research Triangle.
• The Summit, in Birmingham, Alabama, houses the third flagship, built in 1997, which opened as a Parisian store and one of the lifestyle center's original anchors. Its intended conversion to a Belk flagship was officially announced on April 25, 2007, with the reorganization complete by September 2007.
• Phipps Plaza, in Atlanta, Georgia, contains the fourth flagship, which also opened as Parisian, part of a 1992 expansion of the mall in which the store became the third mall anchor. Like the store at The Summit, it converted to a Belk by September 2007, although its conversion to flagship wasn't officially announced until November 2, 2007.[http://www.belkandparisian.com/press/2007-09_sign.html belkandparisian.com

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A fifth flagship location is under construction (as of September 2008) at Richmond Centre, located in Richmond, Kentucky. The location will be the chain's northernmost flagship.

History

Founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk, the store was first called "New York Racket" and then "Belk Brothers," after William Belk made his brother, John, a partner.

The business grew steadily, relying on "bargain sales" and advertising to grow the business. Today, the chain is still family-owned and currently has 306 stores in 19 states, particularly in the Carolinas.Belk Official Website The southernmost Belk store is located in Fort Myers, Florida. In 2006, Belk generated US$2.97 billion in sales and employed 17,900 people.

During the fourth quarter of 2005, Belk completed the sale of their private label credit card division, Belk National Bank, to GE MoneyBank. Consumers were issued new Belk credit cards replacing the old ones issued by BNB. All new Belk cards are now issued by GE Money Bank.