Belk Stores Scholarship

Belk, Inc., a private department store company based in Charlotte, N.C., is where customers shop for their Saturday night outfit, the perfect Sunday dress, and where family and community matter most. But Belk is more than shopping – it’s where you find your own unique way to express who you are. Founder William Henry Belk used a $750 investment and $500 loan to open his first store in Monroe, NC – The New York Racket – a name he selected to make the store sound big and draw in customers. William convinced his brother, Dr. John Belk, to join as a partner, and they discover the power of providing quality product at great prices. The Belk brothers expanded the business by hiring and training local men to open and manage new stores. Early partners receive a share of ownership and their names on the storefronts alongside Belk, for example, Belk-Hudson or Belk-Leggett. The business grew to include 27 partners who operate 20 stores and generate $10 million in total annual sales by 1923. Belk opens its 195th store and is proclaimed to be “The South’s Largest Distributor of Reliable Merchandise" by 1943.