Belk, Family Dollar deals underscore shifting Charlotte business landscape
The Charlotte business scene in 2015 featured more apartments, new skyscrapers and a continuing recovery at the big banks.
But perhaps the most memorable business events were the sales of two iconic, homegrown retailers: Belk and Family Dollar.
Both are major employers with deep community ties that some worry might wane under new owners. Experts say their sale will likely bring changes for employees and shoppers, but the companies have said little about their plans.
The sale of these two institutions highlights the shifting nature of Charlotte’s business landscape, once supported by cotton and railroads and later bolstered by fast-growing banks. It also mirrors a global trend of record-setting mergers and acquisitions, which topped $5 trillion in 2015.
Businesses from around the U.S. are starting to recognize Charlotte’s rapid growth – it is now the country’s 17th biggest city – and its potential for business expansion, said local historian Tom Hanchett.
“We are on the radar for a wide variety of people who are looking for opportunities. Sometimes that means moving to Charlotte, sometimes that means looking for something to buy in Charlotte,” Hanchett said.
Over the past six years, at least 28 companies have relocated corporate headquarters to Charlotte, according to data from the Charlotte Chamber.
In August, for instance, Baton Rouge, La.-based chemical company Albemarle Corp. said it is shifting its headquarters to Charlotte next year. And Bubble Wrap maker Sealed Air said last year that it’s moving to Charlotte from Elmwood Park, N.J.
The sale of Belk to New York private equity firm Sycamore Partners and Family Dollar to Chesapeake, Va.-based Dollar Tree follow the sales of Harris Teeter and Wachovia, both local companies, in recent years. But the Charlotte region is still home to seven Fortune 500 companies, including Bank of America, home improvement retailer Lowe’s and power company Duke Energy.
“The diversity of our economy has always been and continues to be one of our great strengths,” said Charlotte Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Morgan.
Belk, Sycamore Partners, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree all declined to comment.
Less mind share
To be sure, it’s still unclear what level of influence the families who owned Belk and Family Dollar will have moving forward.
The Belks and Levines (Leon Levine founded Family Dollar) are engrained in the Charlotte community, their names adorning buildings, charitable organizations, schools and a freeway.
In many ways, the companies’ early leaders helped shape Charlotte. Former Belk CEO and Charlotte mayor John Belk, along with fellow local retailer George Ivey, helped create SouthPark mall, spurring dramatic growth in South Charlotte. Levine and his wife, Sandra, helped fund the Levine Jewish Community Center and its surrounding campus on Providence Road.
Under new ownership, formerly family-run companies tend to devote “less mind share” to their hometowns, Hanchett said.
The banks, for example, are still major players in Charlotte but not in the way they were in the era of former Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl Jr. and former First Union CEO Ed Crutchfield, Hanchett said. He said he anticipates the same kinds of changes gradually for Belk and Family Dollar under new ownership.
“Building a strong Charlotte was a key part of what (McColl and Crutchfield) felt the corporate mission required,” Hanchett said. “For people who have an ownership stake in their local corporations, the locality is very important to the corporation.”
Charlotte Chamber’s Morgan said for now, the opposite may be true since local executives will have more time and money to devote to the region.
“They’re not going to control the businesses that they have obviously but they’re going to give us additional philanthropic resources and leadership that I think will be good for the community,” Morgan said.
Some experts say some employment changes are likely, but neither Belk nor Family Dollar have said much about possible layoffs at their respective local headquarters. Belk employs about 1,300 at its offices on Tyvola Road, and Family Dollar employs about 1,200 in Matthews.
“Charlotte’s economy is large, it’s growing, it’s increasingly diverse and we’ll be able to roll with these changes just like we’ve rolled with other changes previously,” Morgan said.
Katherine Peralta: 704-358-5079, @katieperalta
Family-owned from the start
Belk traces its roots to a little shop in 1888 opened by William Henry Belk, who named the first store New York Racket. Over the years, the department store chain has grown to 296 stores across 16 states, mostly in the Southeast. The company is now in its third generation of Belk family leadership.
The retailer has garnered a loyal following of customers over the years, from northern transplants to longtime Charlotte residents who remember trips as children to an uptown store Belk once ran.
Charlotte businessman Leon Levine opened the first Family Dollar store on Central Avenue in 1959 with a $6,000 loan when he was 22. He would scout new store locations by spotting fresh oil spots on the pavement left by motorists on tight budgets.
The company grew steadily and topped 8,000 stores under the leadership of Levine’s son and successor, Howard, who will remain CEO for at least another year and a half. The combined Dollar Tree now is the biggest dollar-store chain in the U.S. by store count.
Katherine Peralta
This story was originally published December 31, 2015 at 11:06 AM with the headline "Belk, Family Dollar deals underscore shifting Charlotte business landscape."