Belk has a new logo - are you any more likely to shop there ;) (Atlanta: school, to live)

[LadyRo]

Belk and Nordstrom in the same sentence? I'm LOLing with vigor. But, seriously, I grew up in Greenville, SC and remember Belk when it was Belk-Simpson there. It was an okay store, with a solidly middle class image, kind of like a Kohl's today.

But a Nordstrom? I think not, LOL.

[CuriouserGeorge]

Exactly how many Belks were there? I remember Belk-Matthews, Belk-Griffith, and Belk-Gallant. Were there any more?

I have great memories of going to Belk's in downtown Macon back in the 50's. It was sort of like that department store in "A Christmas Story" (the film with the kid who wants the BB-gun for Xmas), and of course all of clothing and shoes were American-made back then.

[johnatl]

Originally Posted by CuriouserGeorge

Exactly how many Belks were there? I remember Belk-Matthews, Belk-Griffith, and Belk-Gallant. Were there any more?

Yes - Hudson-Belk in Raleigh/Durham & Belk-Lindsey in Orlando.

[johnatl]

Originally Posted by CuriouserGeorge

I have great memories of going to Belk's in downtown Macon back in the 50's. It was sort of like that department store in "A Christmas Story" (the film with the kid who wants the BB-gun for Xmas), and of course all of clothing and shoes were American-made back then.

I have to add that the Dept. Store in the movie was the old Higbee's.

As a kid growing up in Cleveland, I have wonderful memories of going there at Christmas - it was magical. The window displays were unbelievable to us, as were their competitors Halle's & the May Company.
Cleveland's Golden Age of Downtown Shopping - Cleveland Memory Project, CSU Library

[ericsonga]

As some of you may know, I grew up in the bustling metropolis that is Hartwell, GA. Essentially the only real department store in town was Gallant Belk on the square. It only recently moved to shopping center down in the street a few years ago. Well, the only department store other than Bailes Cobb, which is oddly much more upscale. I also would consider Belk a more down market store. The ones that I have shopped at in the past have never really piqued my interest. Good luck to them though.

[Newsboy]

To be fair, all large-scale retailers outside of the "exclusive" brands like Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Saks, Nieman's, etc. have varying tiers of stores depending on the markets in which they are located. And even then, doesn't Macy's also own Bloomingdale's and Saks? So I actually give Belk credit for trying to raise it's image -- and the quality of its stores -- in these larger markets that it suddenly found itself in with the Parisian acquisition. The Belk stores in Atlanta and Savannah are as nice as Rich's ever was.

[RoslynHolcomb]

In Gadsden, AL we had Belk-Hudson. It was the first building in our town with an escalator. For a treat my mama would sometimes take us to the store just to ride the escalator.

[Southlander]

Belk has replaced many higher-end Parisian stores with the lower-end Belk offerings. It's like they decided Parisian customers are toothless rednecks. The only halfway decent Belk I've seen is at the Summit in Birmingham. The rest of us in Alabama don't get that level store. We get the stuffed-full-of-poor-fitting-poorly-made-merchandise-type-Belk.

[midtown mile girl]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

To be fair, all large-scale retailers outside of the "exclusive" brands like Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Saks, Nieman's, etc. have varying tiers of stores depending on the markets in which they are located. And even then, doesn't Macy's also own Bloomingdale's and Saks? So I actually give Belk credit for trying to raise it's image -- and the quality of its stores -- in these larger markets that it suddenly found itself in with the Parisian acquisition. The Belk stores in Atlanta and Savannah are as nice as Rich's ever was.

Macy's and Bloomingdales is owned by Federated. Saks is separate.

[FlyiMetro]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

That's the way Belk is perceived in GA only...in NC and SC it's been a staple since 1888 and an anchor in all of the nicer malls and shopping centers. I've never visited the one in Phipps or anywhere in GA, but Belk was never considered small-town or anything less than a Macy's-type department store...not exactly high end, but somewhere in the middle.

The new logo looks good to me...they needed something more in tune with 2010; I think what they had prior to this had been around at least since I was a kid.

Yea I agree Belk was even with Macys & Dillards but higher than Sears & JC Pennys...HiMidscale department store, thier presentation was never low budget to me.