Jeff Siner - jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Katelyn Faris of Rock Hill, S.C., browses at the Belk store at Carolina Place Mall in Pineville on Friday.
Charlotte-based Belk said Friday that it plans to remodel almost 30 stores this year, as the retailer holds off on new store openings and focuses on its existing space.
Last year, Belk spent about $70 million on store remodels and renovations. In 2012, Belk plans to increase that slightly, to $75 million, and then spend up to $130 million a year in 2013 and 2014.
Belk hasn't opened new stores since the recession hit in 2007, holding steady with about 300 department stores, mostly in the Southeast. Improving those existing stores has been a priority.
"Stores, after time, tend to get tired," said Ralph Pitts, Belk's executive vice president. "It's important for us to have a store the customer feels good about, that represents our brand."
In one major renovation last year, Belk spent $4.6 million upgrading its store in Cary Towne Center. No Triangle stores are slated for an upgrade this year..
One area Belk doesn't plan to spend on this year is new stores. Although Belk is looking at possible markets to expand to, the earliest they might open is next year.
"There's a few opportunities we considered four or five years ago that were put on the shelf because of the recession that could start coming back," said Greg Wilson, Belk's vice president of real estate.
This year, Belk will relocate two stores, one in Waynesville and one in Pensacola, Fla., expand four, remodel 13 stores and partially remodel 10 more. Pitts said the company will release the full list of stores later, as renovation dates approach.
Belk is trying to avoid the pitfalls faced by some other retailers with older stores. As Sears Holdings has struggled with declining sales, many analysts have pointed to a lack of investment in the company's Sears and Kmart stores, letting them get shabby. J.C. Penney also has completely revamped the way it displays merchandise, switching to a simpler, less-cluttered format and easy-to-understand pricing displays.
Retail conditions, and Belk's performance, have improved since the recession. In November, Belk reported it earned a profit of $57.5 million for the first three quarters of its fiscal year, up from $32.5 million in the same period last year.
Even in Belk stores that aren't getting a full overhaul, the fashion jewelry and women's footwear departments are seeing changes. The company aims to increase the amount of selling space devoted to footwear from about 5 percent to 6 percent of a store to 9.5 percent.
More stores also are seeing jewelry being moved from glass boxes to an "open-sell" format, Pitts said. "We want to get it with fashion jewelry where the customer can touch it, feel it," he said.
