SamSpade wrote: ↑December 28th, 2020, 1:03 pm
It does seem like Belk is the remaining anchor at many southern (small) malls. Then again, stores like Mervyn's or Kohl's anchored strip centers for years.
That is certainly the case at this mall right now. Bealls is the only other remaining anchor. The usual suspects - Kmart, Sears and JCPenney have all closed since 2018.
That leaves Game Stop, Gold's Gym (new), GNC, and Rack Room as the remaining national tenants, as well as a theater.
SamSpade wrote: ↑December 28th, 2020, 1:03 pm
Belk has been the butt of a few jokes on "Bless the Harts" (set in a fictional NC that has, among others, Mega - Lo - Mart)
OT, but thanks for the reminder. I sort of forgot about this show and just realized it came back in September.
Looks like Belk is having financial problems (not a real surprise). I'm not in their area but comments on other retail groups says merchandise has been noticeably lacking. Another death by Vulture Capitalists.
mbz321 wrote: ↑January 20th, 2021, 8:53 am
Looks like Belk is having financial problems (not a real surprise). I'm not in their area but comments on other retail groups says merchandise has been noticeably lacking. Another death by Vulture Capitalists.
Yet this chain bid for JCP last summer... funny how things work. I guess the private equity was going to infuse cash into it if it got JCP, but now is doing a restructuring instead.
It was Belk’s parent and merging two declining if not failing businesses is pretty classic business strategy, even though it usually fails. The Belk family clearly knew when to leave.
buckguy wrote: ↑January 22nd, 2021, 2:38 pm
It was Belk’s parent and merging two declining if not failing businesses is pretty classic business strategy, even though it usually fails. The Belk family clearly knew when to leave.
Well Belk's parent is the same one who owns Staples right? Who is now trying to merge Staples and Office Depot (again)...
Belk's stores in the photos I look at seem pretty nice... certainly nicer than JCP. Also Belk's website seems to be better than that of JCP. So I thought Belk could possibly be an improvement from JCP.
I don't see Staples or Office Depot improving one another...
Pretty funny they were going to buy JCP... I wonder if this still would have happened had they bought JCP or if the Sycamore group would have propped them up somehow so this would not happen.
The Belk website, is far from the worst I've seen, though. To be objective... I think their website is actually above average for a clothing retailer in terms of its interface and navigation. It is clean and easy to get around. Comparing it to websites like DIllards (worst), Sears (not good), and JCP (not good)... Macy's website is great on variety and product photos but rather cluttered and not a clean navigation. Macy's wins on product and overall presentation (product photos) but it is hard to get around.
Sycamore probably would have used the merger as an interim step in restructuring Belk's debt and an excuse for closing more of its stores. One way or another they are probably looking for a way to divest a lot of Belk's small market locations.
Stopped by Belk again today. Things did not look much better. Still low inventory levels throughout, a lot of white wall space showing and spaced out displays. It was a Saturday afternoon and I did not even see anyone actively browsing, just a few people passing through from the mall entrance.
Bealls was not particularly busy but there were customers shopping and inventory levels looked normal - very good actually, and some good sales going on too.
Belk in comparison was depressing. Did not look at all like the same store I shopped at in 2015 or 2019. JCPenney in its last perpetual clearance sales years looked better.