5 changes at Belk since bankruptcy

Why it matters: Leadership at Belk has been rocky in the year-and-a-half since the company filed for bankruptcy. The local department store chain’s been working to regain its footing amid the pandemic in the years since the company sold itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

• What’s more, Hendricks is Belk’s third CEO since last summer, as the Observer noted.

The big picture: Belk is a Charlotte icon, one started by a family that helped put Charlotte on the map.

My thought bubble: I’ve covered Belk for more than seven years, back when it was owned and operated by the Belk family. Even then, department stores were struggling to stay relevant as more customers opted to shop online. I even wrote a story when the company changed hands with the headline: “Why Belk was smart to sell itself when it did.”

The pandemic dealt another blow to the struggling department-store industry, as mall foot traffic all but dried up. The tumultuous leadership situation came hand-in-hand with the company’s financial struggles.

• Belk declined to avail Hendricks for an interview for this story. Sycamore Partners declined to comment.

Here are some of the biggest changes at Belk since the company filed for bankruptcy in early 2021:

July 2021: Lisa Harper, who became the first non-Belk to lead the company when she took over in 2016, stepped aside. She led the company through the pandemic and through the bankruptcy. Harper, former CEO of Hot Topic, remains on Belk’s board of directors. Nir Patel, previously Belk’s chief merchandising officer, took over as CEO.

July 2021: Belk, a longtime corporate presence at an office park on Tyvola near the airport, put its headquarters up for full or partial sublease. Subleasing or selling space, as we reported, is one way to trim costs for the company. At the time, Belk said it considered having corporate employees work in offices inside stores.

May 2022: Patel stepped down after less than a year as CEO to pursue “other interests.”

August 2022: Belk sues two former executives (Patel and former SVP of supply chain Tim May), accusing them of stealing confidential information and using it to poach Belk employees.

September 2022: Hendricks, who was named interim CEO in May 2022, was named CEO. He’d joined Belk in 2016 as chief operating officer, then later began overseeing stores in 2019. Hendricks, who previously held senior leadership positions at retailers like Gymboree and Hot Topic, has played a role in leading the company’s initiatives “to enhance its omnichannel capabilities,” per Belk.