Thread regarding Belk layoffs

One Belk!!!!

Have been an hourly associate w/ Belk for over 20 years...mostly helping out in the 'heart of the store'. Beauty Dpt.- . I've worked in more than one store, been through a couple/3 big remodels, have made it through many transitions, adapting accordingly....but i've never witnessed anything like this. Trouble was being felt well before Covid hit. Concerning Inventory issues before Covid. Visual props have seriously declined in nature for some time now. The cardboard Christmas tree cutouts this past season were, well....a different feel for our store. Yikes
Lancôme's Spring GWP Promotion has been pulled off the calendar with no word of a reschedule. Not hearing anything from the Lancôme world at all...eerily quiet. No new products coming to the counters from any of the Big 3 (Clinique, Lauder, Lancome) beauty brands for several months now. Lancôme had a new mascara launch that was suppose to drop on the 28th? product never came in. Yet we were asked to secure presale orders in the system. Got a few in, still no product. Clinique's new foundation that is being advertised on their gift mailer hasn't come in yet either. Customers are asking about it. Also, a week or so ago, several boxes showed up where they were full of past seasons gifts....by a couple of years old. Like they were cleaning the warehouses out and sending us what was found in the back corners or something.
Customers are concerned....coming in left and right asking are we going to be closing. Everything is picked over, average sizes gone. We had hired some extra, seasonal, help for the Christmas season but back to a skeleton crew. Last week and this week Managers have come around and are presently tweaking schedules day to day now and sending folks home. Calling associates and letting them know their shifts have been totally cut the day before they were expecting to come in.
I keep reading about how Sycamore comes in under the ruse of saving companies when they seemingly squeeze the life blood out of them and ultimately euthanize them. Belk was once a great and respected, family run company. No doubt the Belk Bros are turning in their graves now.
I am feeling like a watchman on the Titanic looking out for icebergs....cant see any for the dark, but sure can smell and feel that big ice is near. I'm so very sad. Praying we will weather through this storm and come out stronger on the other side. :(

Current Belk employee here. I'm not buying the whole "no store closings" deal. They're trying to keep people from jumping ship now, but there probably will be store closings. As others have said, we have skeleton crews working,and if you do a walk through you will see areas where there is very little to no merchandise, and a lot of BS stuff that a store which I always thought was classy, shouldn't be carrying. Belk was losing ground way before COVID 19. Customers were constantly asking if we were going out of business. Even ship to home has slowed.
The other anonymous commenter with all the downvotes sounds like a corporate troll.

Former Belk employee here with a family member still employed by Belk. I will say that Lisa Harper does send out weekly emails to corporate associates and anyone else with a Belk email. I also will say that most posters here are spot on with their observations about Sycamore and Belk. I do not support any slanderous posts on this page directed at certain individuals however. As a whole this page offers insight into the part of Belk they don't want you to see. I'm sure this is a PR nightmare for them. Also you can read the comments on Belk's Facebook page for some real life customer comments (mostly negative) as well.

Austin, please know this board is not exclusive to current employees. I’m a current hourly emplyee and can almost assure you some of the commenters are not currently employed by Belk based on their comments; like, Lisa Harper sends weekly emails. Not true for any hourly employees, maybe management. Follow same negative “stir the pot” comments and you will see the same posted at close hour of proximity on other department store sites. Bottom line, from a current employee please practice responsible journalism. If you’re asking for truth, (anonymously), do your research to verify your source is currently employed. Otherwise, refer respectively to our corporate office for clarification. During this process, like many other retailers we are doing the same and focusing on our clients, whether in store or Fullfillment clientele, including BOPIS, (buy on line, pick up in store). We’re working diligently to serve our clients and community in best forward and safe business practice. After all, we’re Belk. We’ve dominated retail for 130 years in our southern region. Yes, there are our counterparts, mostly C and D stores. Our customers are genuinely concerned for us and their trusted “go to” for best in all categories. I can’t understand why you would invite anything but truthful information, same as provided in the published PR statement. The current situation “is what it is” and unfortunately for overall economy, not an anonomly. Management has addressed the current situation in our everyday morning meetings. All employees received a detailed letter of Bankruptcy 11 filing, along with RSA intent. What else would you possibly create an article on? Have you been to your mall lately and followed any other retailers doing same? We’re still in the middle of a pandemic with less than 10% of N.C. fully vaccinated, (2 doses each) and were just now nearing a year anniversary of 5 week complete closure. I don’t expect an apology from management respecting science, our health, our healthcare providers and overall community. In fact, I applaud them.

Stefan Kaluzny, Lisa Harper, Don Hendricks are a bunch of grifter con artists. Period.

What has been the biggest change is the quality of merchandise we are receiving in the stores. We have not received any national brand merchandise in months. I suspect this is Belk not paying its vendors. We started receiving brands in the fall that we have never carried. Clorox brand towels?
Then Polo Ralph Lauren pulled out of around 65 stores and Nautica did not ship for fall because of payment. I just heard Nautica has postponed its spring shipments until payments arrangements are made.
We also received private label merchandise that was clearly purchased buyout merchandise and the tags were changed to our private label brands.
We also received large shipments of merchandise that is available at places like Big Lots and Ollies.
Merchandise also came in that was tagged for Ross dress for less.
We are told that Belk was sending whatever merchandise was available during the pandemic but it has continued to be poor quality merchandise showing up in stores.
Stores are also running on skeleton crews. Sometime 1 register open on an entire floor. There is absolutely no customer service going on, even in our flagship size stores.
The number one priority in the store is our ship to home business and everything else falls to the wayside.
Customers are constantly asking if we are going out of business.
We are told the bankruptcy is just a way for us to reorganize and come out stronger.
Lisa Harper sends out and email each Friday letting us know great things are going, as we file for bankruptcy?
Sycamore Partners has done some shady dealings with previous company’s they acquired and I feel that is what is taking place with Belk.

Yes. All the while spewing a bunch bs to everybody because ultimately all that's important is the money they are going to make. I agree with 1yzu that more attention needs to paid to what really goes on with sycamore and companies like them.

I work at SPLS and am watching what is happening at Belk with grim foreboding. SP runs everything into the ground in an effort to pay itself first and maximize its return. Why not write about how private equity ruins companies? How it mortgages all of a companies assets b/c it wants money now?

I'd get that it's weird to reach out on a forum like this – totally understand.

Doubt I'm real? Give me a ring at 704-358-5426. It's my desk line, it's also listed on our newsroom contacts: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/customer-service/contact-us/

And regarding the person above on North Lake, no that wasn't me...not sure who that would be frankly. Basic ethic of journalism is to introduce yourself as a journalist to whoever you're talking to.

something is rotten in denmark.

Sounds fishy to me Austin.. or whoever you are.
I’ll pass. Thanks

Are you the jerk that came to North Lake yesterday and pretended to be a customer? Started the conversation asking us about products for your wife and slowly shifted the conversation asking about Lancôme’s presell... asking us if we had heard from the brands pulling out of the stores. Hmmm.