New acquisition by Belk

[rockhilljames]

Looks like a done deal. Belk to buy all of the Parisians and to immediately sell off about 7 of them.

It appears as if Belk had to purchase all of them as other suitors were offering to purchase all the stores as well.

This won't be public for some time. (unless Doug Smith reads this...)

[mallguy]

Looks like a done deal. Belk to buy all of the Parisians and to immediately sell off about 7 of them.

It appears as if Belk had to purchase all of them as other suitors were offering to purchase all the stores as well.

This won't be public for some time. (unless Doug Smith reads this...)

Absolutely horrible news.

Will the 7 Parisians be left as a mini-chain or am I assuming correctly that they will become Dillard's, Macy's or in-line space in their respective malls?

Awful news.

[DigitalSky]

Will the Parisian name retain?

[StevenRocks]

Looks like a done deal. Belk to buy all of the Parisians and to immediately sell off about 7 of them.

It appears as if Belk had to purchase all of them as other suitors were offering to purchase all the stores as well.

This won't be public for some time. (unless Doug Smith reads this...)

Is this from your internal source? I think Belk probably has thought this through and is making a good decision, but it seems a little redundant to buy Parisian.

[mallguy]

Is this from your internal source? I think Belk probably has thought this through and is making a good decision, but it seems a little redundant to buy Parisian.

I agree. There are plenty of malls with Belk and Parisian stores- Richland Mall and Citadel Mall in SC, probably plenty in Alabama, plus Parisian's Michigan and Indiana stores, which I'd think that Belk wouldn't want.

Plus now another good chain is vanishing- I*(#)&*)&(#)*)(#!!!!!!!!!!!

[rockhilljames]

Yes, it's from my source.

...and yes, they will be rebranded as Belk. I don't think it's horrible news, but then again I like Belk.

[Alababy]

The entire deal won't be public, or the selling of the 7?

Rumors in AL are RAMPANT, and some were expecting an announcement for a week or more now...

[rockhilljames]

The entire deal.

I'm not sure if the 6 or 7 stores will be sold to one buyer or multiple. They are stores that are on the outer edges of Belk's territory, which they don't want to expand into just yet.

[atlrvr]

This would definetly put Belk into the Fortune 500 right? Private companies can be on the list if I'm not mistaken.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

This would definetly put Belk into the Fortune 500 right? Private companies can be on the list if I'm not mistaken.

Maybe. The Fortune 500 are mostly public, but there are a few private companies that release enough information to be listed.

Belk was #109 on the Forbes list of biggest private companies. http://images.forbes.com/lists/2005/21/W2G3.html

[DigitalSky]

The entire deal.

I'm not sure if the 6 or 7 stores will be sold to one buyer or multiple. They are stores that are on the outer edges of Belk's territory, which they don't want to expand into just yet.

So Phipps Plaza - Belk or sell?

[mallguy]

And in the '80s, '90s and before, plenty of companies (Federated, May, Mercantile, etc.) all operated stores with multiple nameplates. Now chains want to operate just one or two brands. Since when did the economics of department stores change enough to merit this switch?

[DigitalSky]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parisian

Take a look at the locations. If you count the locations in Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi and Ohio- they total 7... I would assume these are the 7 fringe locations, since the rest are in the southeast.

[Alababy]

Wonder what that also means for the 7 Parisian stores slated to open between this year and 2008? Most recent annouced 7/25 to be opened in Baton Rouge?

I know Belk might love to have locations like Summit in Birmingham, but what would they do with 2 locations in places like Birmingham's Galleria?

[mallguy]

And look what happened when Belk bought Proffitt's, McRae's, etc. and put those poor chains out of their misery- some store closings. Why would Belk buy the Saks Inc. store at a dying mall like Century Plaza and then close it a few months later, too?

[rockhilljames]

Well, remember Belk was originally trying to just cherry-pick the Parisians they wanted. Since they weren't able to do that, I guess they count the others as acceptable losses at getting into other markets.

Do a comparision between the Parisian locations where there are no Belk stores and you'll have your winners. Belk has also historically operated two stores in one mall before. Depending upon store size they would make one a women's wear/jewlery location and another a men's/houswares department.

***By the way, I have no idea what this means for the Parisians slated to open ****

[StevenRocks]

I agree with rockhilljames. It's not a bad thing in my eyes, but I like Belk, too.

[gs3]

I stand by Tim Belk's comments. (Have heard the same from both McKay and Johnny).

Not to say "I told you so".....but......

For the new stores, Dillards is getting Little Rock.

Trussville (Birmingham), Baton Rouge and Prattville will be Belk.

Dillards is picking up a couple of others and Bon Ton is picking up a couple of Northern. I hear Federated gets one (Northern).

[mallguy]

I recall with fondness Ivey's, which always seemed to be a nicer store than Belk and which I would assume was about like Parisian is today: on the high end of the mid-market, above Belk but below Saks Fifth Avenue and others. With Lord & Taylor struggling and Parisian vanishing, are nice, up-market but not luxury chains in Parisian's and Ivey's price points done for good? Or does anyone think that in a few years, an existing mid-market chain will move upwards, or another chain will appear to fill this void? Parisian, L&T and those types of stores are my favorite- stylish yet not way expensive- and I dread losing them.

[DruidCity]

Man, this would be a kick in the crotch. Parisian is the most popular department store brand here, and has a great reputation for customer service.

Tuscaloosa's McRae's was one of the very, very few that Belk did not purchase, so it became a Parisian's. So, our mall now has two Parisian's , arranged like the following:

Do a comparision between the Parisian locations where there are no Belk stores and you'll have your winners. Belk has also historically operated two stores in one mall before. Depending upon store size they would make one a women's wear/jewlery location and another a men's/houswares department.

We do not have any Belk's here (though there was a Belk-Hudson department store downtown that closed decades ago).

Any ideas whether Belk's would keep one, both, or none of the Tuscaloosa Parisian stores ?

[StevenRocks]

With Lord & Taylor struggling and Parisian vanishing, are nice, up-market but not luxury chains in Parisian's and Ivey's price points done for good? Or does anyone think that in a few years, an existing mid-market chain will move upwards, or another chain will appear to fill this void?

In the short term, they're dead. They're too expensive for the Target-JCPenney crowd, too conservative for the Saks-Neiman Marcus crowd, and don't feel like a bargain to the outlet-TJ Maxx crowd.

I have a theory that once our remaining better department stores fall into the annals of history and all we have to choose from is Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, Nordstrom, Macy's and Neiman Marcus, someone will be smart enough to seize the oppurtunity to start a store that caters to people who want a fresher choice and become extremely successful at it.

[Miesian Corners]

Can anyone guess what Belk will do with Parisian at Phipps in Atlanta?

[DigitalSky]

Can anyone guess what Belk will do with Parisian at Phipps in Atlanta?

That is what I'm most curious about

[StevenRocks]

I think Belk will keep Phipps and do a SouthPark style merchandising job with it.

[DigitalSky]

I think Belk will keep Phipps and do a SouthPark style merchandising job with it.

I'd love to see that