I know my store tanked...an the Macys in our semi upscale mall didn't do much better.
Dillards actually did well..they were aggressive in get spring on the floor and cleaning out winter with markdowns! Walking into their stores it looks fresh and the product speaks for itself not a bunch of signage
Also spring gift was tough...Lauder looks like it could be ok ...if we get product after pre sell
@a4+1. You are so right. Private equity has no intentions of trying to turn a company around.
My store did pretty well also but the associates are worn out and miserable. Belk plays fast and loose with everybody not caring what they were hired for or if they want the position they put them in. I am very lucky to be in a position that I like but they work us like dogs every day adding new duties and goals. Let's face it, Hein park and kkr, Belk corporate and Belk managements first thoughts are the money. They don't care if the associates make it or not or if the customer is taken care. First clue is no transparery. And once private equity buys in there is no hope left. They say that want to turn it around while cutting positions as fast as they can. Their loyalties are to the investors. I hate to say it but we are in for even rougher times coming up.
My store actually did quite well, probably because we are the only department store for like a 50 mile radius! We were low on credits some days but very high the other days. Everyone in my store is in good spirits and just trying to be the best we can be, and yeah some days it’s hard when there aren’t a lot of people on the floor but it’s been that way at my store since 2021 so it’s nothing new. My guess is KKR will try to turn Belk around the best they can and then they will sell the company off to maximize their profits because shareholders do not own businesses they invest in for very long. We can only hope they sale it to a better company than sycamore, which are the blame for everything that has happened to Belk. Belk has the potential to literally be the best department store around, I know I prefer it over macys and JCPenney.
The problem here is they spent too much of KKR $$ to quickly....so they have to hold out for long as possible to get that payout ...
also I think they anticipated it to be better sales/credit wise that it actually is...the credit card is why they gave Belk $$ in the 1st place
Isn’t it odd that all companies owned by private equity eventually fail? It’s actually quite simple…they run the companies into the ground on purpose so the top brass get huge payouts at the very end.