Belk

Belk Inc. has hired Goldman Sachs to explore its strategic options, including the possibility of a sale that could value the family owned department store chain at as much as $4 billion, Reuters reports.

In response to the Reuters report, Belk issued a response saying that it had hired Goldman Sachs to help it explore all options for its future. Belk added that it expects to conclude its analysis in the next several months.

Belk operates about 300 stores in 16 Southern states.

Charlotte, N.C. – Belk Inc. credited strong holiday sales for helping to boost net income in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 8% to $104.4 million from $96.3 million the same period a year earlier.

 Net sales rose 5% to $1.39 billion from $1.32 billion, driven by a 2.4% increase in same-store sales and 42% surge in online sales.

Belk’s efforts on community involvement received a boost in 2015, as the company reported that it donated more than $21.5 million to local communities last year.

Of the total amount, Belk corporate dollars funded $6.1 million to more than 250 nonprofit organizations, with a focus on education, breast cancer research and awareness, and community strengthening, the company said. The remainder of the funding includes associate, vendor and customer dollars raised in Belk-led charitable events, including the Belk Charity Sale.

Charlotte, N.C. – Nothing succeeds like success, and 300-plus-store department store chain Belk Inc. took a previously successful TV holiday campaign and modernized it for the omnichannel era, with impressive results.

Scott Kessler has been named chief information officer at Belk less than a year after joining the regional department store operator as its top omnichannel executive.   Kessler, who will report to John R. Belk, president and chief operating officer, has served as Belk’s senior vice president of omnichannel solutions delivery since March of 2014.  

Charlotte, N.C. - Belk Inc. has named Scott Kessler as CIO, effective immediately. Kessler, who will report to John R. Belk, president and COO, has served as Belk’s senior VP of omnichannel solutions delivery since March 2014.
 
Prior to that role, Kessler has more than 20 years of IT experience, nearly 10 years of which was with GSI Commerce Solutions where he was senior VP of products technology.

Charlotte, N.C. – The store is still the center of profit, and Belk Inc. is focusing on increased control, efficiency and visibility of workforce activities to maximize that profit. Belk has implemented Reflexis Workforce Manager, Reflexis Time & Attendance, Reflexis Task Manager, and Reflexis Advanced Analytics & Reporting to streamline corporate-to-store communication, track completion status of important tasks and projects, increase labor efficiency, reduce costs, and comply with complex labor laws.

Strong e-commerce growth and omnichannel contributed to a healthy holiday shopping sales season at Belk.

The nation’s largest family owned and operated fashion department store company reported a 5.2% increase in sales for the nine-week period ending Jan. 3. Same store sales for the same period increased by 4.8%.