Event
Customers who spend $75 or more can meet NFL quarterback Cam Newton and receive an autograph. Register for a chance to win a MADE wardrobe valued at $300. A percentage of sales (5 percent) will be donated to the Cam Newton Foundation.
Date: 2-4 p.m. June 8
Location: Belk Phipps Plaza, 3500 Peachtree Road N.E., men’s department
Designing a menswear collection wasn’t necessarily a priority for NFL quarterback Cam Newton. To say he had other obligations would be putting it lightly. But when the opportunity came to partner with Belk on his MADE line of apparel for men, Newton knew it was a project he wanted to … tackle.
“Belk is supreme in the Southeast,” said the Atlanta-bred Newton, who plays for the Carolina Panthers. “It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass on.”
The opportunity coincides with Belk’s 125th Anniversary celebration — an event marked by a stellar cast of brands offering up exclusive merchandise to Belk customers. Frye, Ralph Lauren, Vince Camuto and even a Belk Barbie are among the brands that have created specialty merchandise in a range of product categories to celebrate the department store’s milestone.
The retail landscape was very different in 1888 when William Henry Belk, founder of Belk stores, opened his first shop in Monroe, N.C. Belk’s plan — to offer cash sales at the lowest possible prices — was considered radical and a sure failure. But “The New York Racket” — billed as the “cheapest store on Earth” — made a $3,300 profit.
Belk’s success would soon persuade his brother, Dr. John M. Belk, to leave the medical practice and join his sibling in retail. Over the next several decades, they opened 30 stores across the Carolinas and the South before Dr. Belk’s death in 1928.
In the ’30s and ’40s, Belk rode out the Depression Era without closing a single store and rapidly expanded. The next four decades, under the leadership of William Henry Belk’s six children, were devoted to evolving the brand from its “bargain store” roots to fashion stores with premium brands and updated locations in malls and shopping centers. In the 1990s, the company began consolidating its structure, and in 2010, it rebranded with a new logo and tagline “Modern. Southern. Style.”
Newton, said Kathryn Bufano, president and merchandising officer for Belk, exemplifies the company’s updated image.
“Professional athletes continue to be fashion icons and shape international trends, and Belk is excited to bring this fashion-forward collection to our customers,” Bufano said in a statement announcing the MADE collection.
Newton said the biggest challenge was finding time to work on creating the line, which includes everything from suits to sportswear and is priced from $28 for polo shirts to $500 for a complete suit.
“I wanted to be a brand that is built off a crisp, clean look,” Newton said. “Today so many people have different avenues of gathering. I wanted something where people would be able to mix and match with what they have.”
Fashion was a big deal when Newton was growing up in Atlanta, and while he wasn’t inspired by any particular designer, Newton said he just wanted to create something that looked cool and was comfortable.
So he put his own spin on the blazers, tailored shirts, shorts and more that he says are appropriate for job interviews, weekend cookouts, dates and yes, even NFL postgame interviews.
“It was extremely exciting for me to go into a different field,” Newton said. “I learned so much about design. (The collection) was a year in the making, and we came such a long way.”
And with 125 years worth of history and 301 stores in 16 Southern states, so has Belk.
