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 the chain in the USA,[1] with its stores primarily located in the Southern USA.
The chain has four flagship locations:
SouthPark Mall, in Charlotte, North Carolina, houses the chain's largest store, with more than 330,000 square feet (31,000 m2). 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 251,000-square-foot (23,300 m2) store in 1972 (subsequently expanded to 320,000 square feet (30,000 m2) 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.
Belk Benefits Program Overview
Belk strives to offer a quality benefits program that meets the varying needs of its Associates. Associates have different benefits needs and require the flexibility to choose different types and levels of benefits coverage. The BelkChoice Benefits Program provides that flexibility to Full-Time associates. If you are a parent, your benefits needs are probably different from an Associate who is single or one who is married without children; you need more flexibility in choosing your benefits and more control over how much you spend for retention.
With BelkChoice, you can select the level of participation that meets your unique needs. Another advantage of BelkChoice is that in many cases your benefits costs can be paid with pre-tax dollars. Using pre-tax dollars to pay for benefits helps make your coverage more affordable. This is because the tax savings you receive helps to offset part of the cost of those benefits. Most retention plans have a three month waiting period.
The BelkChoice program includes a variety of benefit plans, ranging from healthcare, income protection, survivor protection, rest and relaxation and retirement security. It offers "Choice" benefits, which are available to you on an optional basis and "Core" benefits, which Belk automatically provides to you at no cost.
Belk plans to curtail executive compensation, freeze salaries and eliminate its contributions to employee retirement accounts for 2009 to help weather the recession, the 121-year-old Charlotte-based department store chain said Tuesday.
Corporate operations in Charlotte a;so will lose a small number of jobs because of a restructuring.
"The country is in a deep recession, and the timing of recovery is uncertain," Belk spokesman Steve Pernotto said. "A number of the key consumer indicators continue to worsen, and some have worsened considerably, like unemployment."
Belk is financially sound but wants to remain that way, without mass layoffs, Pernotto said.
As a result, the company's top 20 executives will not receive bonuses or stock awards for 2008 or 2009. However, the company's top five executives received no bonuses or stock for 2007, either, according to a regulatory filing; such payments are generally tied to performance. CEO Tim Belk received $1.6 million in total compensation that year, according to the filing.
All other bonus-eligible employees -- fewer than 600 out of 28,000 workers companywide -- will see their bonus-earning potential reduced by half.
No employees companywide will receive salary increases in 2009. The company also is suspending in 2009 both 401(k) matching contributions and those made to employee pensions.
Since last June, more than 30 large companies nationwide have announced plans to change or stop matching contributions to employee 401(k) plans, according to the Pension Rights Center, a consumer group dedicated to retirement security. Among those that have recently joined the list: Starbucks, Motorola, Sears, Eastman Kodak and FedEx.
The Belk moves take effect in February, the start of the company's fiscal year.
In addition to the pay changes, Belk is eliminating its central division in Charlotte. The division covers 70 stores in the Charlotte region and was previously headed by David Stovall, who left in early December to become CEO of Stein Mart.
Most local stores will be folded into the Raleigh-based northern division; the company will continue to have southern and western divisions, though the southern division will move from Jacksonville, Fla., to the Atlanta area. Each of the new divisions will contain about 100 stores.
The chain has four flagship locations:
SouthPark Mall, in Charlotte, North Carolina, houses the chain's largest store, with more than 330,000 square feet (31,000 m2). 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 251,000-square-foot (23,300 m2) store in 1972 (subsequently expanded to 320,000 square feet (30,000 m2) 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.
Belk Benefits Program Overview
Belk strives to offer a quality benefits program that meets the varying needs of its Associates. Associates have different benefits needs and require the flexibility to choose different types and levels of benefits coverage. The BelkChoice Benefits Program provides that flexibility to Full-Time associates. If you are a parent, your benefits needs are probably different from an Associate who is single or one who is married without children; you need more flexibility in choosing your benefits and more control over how much you spend for retention.
With BelkChoice, you can select the level of participation that meets your unique needs. Another advantage of BelkChoice is that in many cases your benefits costs can be paid with pre-tax dollars. Using pre-tax dollars to pay for benefits helps make your coverage more affordable. This is because the tax savings you receive helps to offset part of the cost of those benefits. Most retention plans have a three month waiting period.
The BelkChoice program includes a variety of benefit plans, ranging from healthcare, income protection, survivor protection, rest and relaxation and retirement security. It offers "Choice" benefits, which are available to you on an optional basis and "Core" benefits, which Belk automatically provides to you at no cost.
Belk plans to curtail executive compensation, freeze salaries and eliminate its contributions to employee retirement accounts for 2009 to help weather the recession, the 121-year-old Charlotte-based department store chain said Tuesday.
Corporate operations in Charlotte a;so will lose a small number of jobs because of a restructuring.
"The country is in a deep recession, and the timing of recovery is uncertain," Belk spokesman Steve Pernotto said. "A number of the key consumer indicators continue to worsen, and some have worsened considerably, like unemployment."
Belk is financially sound but wants to remain that way, without mass layoffs, Pernotto said.
As a result, the company's top 20 executives will not receive bonuses or stock awards for 2008 or 2009. However, the company's top five executives received no bonuses or stock for 2007, either, according to a regulatory filing; such payments are generally tied to performance. CEO Tim Belk received $1.6 million in total compensation that year, according to the filing.
All other bonus-eligible employees -- fewer than 600 out of 28,000 workers companywide -- will see their bonus-earning potential reduced by half.
No employees companywide will receive salary increases in 2009. The company also is suspending in 2009 both 401(k) matching contributions and those made to employee pensions.
Since last June, more than 30 large companies nationwide have announced plans to change or stop matching contributions to employee 401(k) plans, according to the Pension Rights Center, a consumer group dedicated to retirement security. Among those that have recently joined the list: Starbucks, Motorola, Sears, Eastman Kodak and FedEx.
The Belk moves take effect in February, the start of the company's fiscal year.
In addition to the pay changes, Belk is eliminating its central division in Charlotte. The division covers 70 stores in the Charlotte region and was previously headed by David Stovall, who left in early December to become CEO of Stein Mart.
Most local stores will be folded into the Raleigh-based northern division; the company will continue to have southern and western divisions, though the southern division will move from Jacksonville, Fla., to the Atlanta area. Each of the new divisions will contain about 100 stores.