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Belk to purchase Parisian


Alababy

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I find it funny because there is no way that men would sit around and talk about this face-to-face with such passion. However, on a message board, they talk about it with passion approaching the Auburn-Alabama rivalry (exaggerating). That I find funny.
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I often find Belk stores to be somewhat cluttered, often lacking strong delineations between the various departments. The Prattville and Auburn stores seem almost claustrophobic. Mere inches, seperate womens' casual wear from electronics/gadgets! In the case of the Spanish Fort store, which could use some external windows, the mens' department seems like the aftermath of a clearance sale with some displays half done and merchandise strewn about. Perhaps moving mens toiletries between cosmetics and the mens apparel section would serve as a transition between the two spaces.

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i know there are probably plenty of stories that make this example look like the exception and not the rule. i would expect different store locations to offer different levels of merch and service, depending on the analysis of the local demo, and perhaps that is what has happened here...
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Wow, you guys are really passionate about Parisian and Belk.

On the Atlanta front all is quiet. We are so used to buyouts and aquisitions that we say our peace and move on. I do like reading the opinions here though. I do get a chuckle here and there when people start throwing around MSA numbers and all. I can't remember when metro Atlanta had a population count of 2 million people. Not in my lifetime...but that's not the point of my post. I can not speak for all 5 million plus "Atlantans" but what I can say is that Parisian came into the market and proved itself a very capable store and it will be missed I am sure. Parisian anchored many of Atlanta's nicer malls included it's most posh shopping center Phipps Plaza.

This will get me tar and feathered I am sure but I must admit that I did not think Parisian fit the Phipps standard very well. I still don't. I was one of those women who protested when Parisian was slated to move into the new anchor at Phipps Plaza. While Parisian was never fully recieved at Phipps, it did make a higher end impression at other Atlanta malls. Ones that quickly come to mind are Northlake, Arbor Place, Stonecrest, and Gwinnett Place malls. They were the "it" stores at these malls.

My idea of Belk is only that if which I have seen in lesser stores in our outer suburbs and that image is not favorable. I think however that Belk should be given the opportunity to prove itself in the mall setting. I might add however that Belk is not doing a good name of making itself known in the highly competitive Atlanta retail market. I have yet to see an advertisement from Belk even though it has landed at Atlanta's largest mall...The Mall of Georgia. I cannot see how they will compete if they are not known. In Atlanta, Parisian is only outdone by Neimans, Blommingdale's and Nordstrom in the advertising arena. This is how Parisian has as good of an image if not slightly higher image than even Macy's here in Atlanta...although there are some higher end Macy's in Atlanta. (ie Macys at Lenox and Perimeter Malls) They tend to be overshadowed because they are anchors in malls with even higher end stores. Phipps Plaza In the lesser malls like Northlake, Gwinnett Place and Arbor Place, Parisian set itself above them all and it's image was firmly set.

I was not a Parisian shopper per se. There are just too many other choices...and with more choice came more competition...which came better prices even at our higher end stores. My image of Belk...be it right or wrong...is not the same as my image of Parisian. I for one will give Belk a chance in the Atlanta market...although I will not shop there. Not because of some preconcieve notion of superiority. It will probably be moreso because of the fact that if I didn't really shop at Parisian, I probably really won't shop at Belk. They will have their work cut of for them to change the image on the minds of the native Atlanta market. The good thing for Belk is that probably out of the 5,200,000 people who live in greater Atlanta, only 40% (not scientific) are native Georgians. The rest are from somewhere else and their first exposure to Belk will be in some pretty decent Atlanta malls.

I will say this for the record....and on this point I will not waiver....Belk should never be allowed to anchor at Phipps Plaza. I could care less what they do at Southpark Mall in Charlotte. The national and or international recognition is not there. Atlanta is not a mere regional player. Although we are not Paris of New York, we definitely deserve a store more suited to the Phipps Plaza and Lenox Mall/Buckhead shopping district that has formed. I am resigned to the fact that some of our suburban malls will change over to Belk but I will never be happy with the Phipps Plaza location being a Belk. Can you imagine a tourist strolling down Peachtree Rd at Lenox Rd seeing Neiman Marcus, The Ritz Carlton, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom and Belk. Oh the shades of Peachtree to be thus polluted. At least Macy's has the national recognition. In this location, Parisian was the lesser store of the bunch but in my mind Simon would be going backwards not forward.

I guess time will tell but I wish Belks the best....even if they never convince me to shop there. Who kows though, I said I would never shopped Walmart but since they introduced a lovely urban store just north of Midtown, I have visited twice since they opened. That's almost more times than I have been to a Walmart in the last ten years....so perhaps I will take the opportunity to visit Belk at one of the other malls in metro Atlanta. Maybe they two can change my mind if not totally win me over.

Sorry for the novelle I just wrote. :whistling:

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Wow, you guys are really passionate about Parisian and Belk.

Can you imagine a tourist strolling down Peachtree Rd at Lenox Rd seeing Neiman Marcus, The Ritz Carlton, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom and Belk. Oh the shades of Peachtree to be thus polluted.

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