Charlotte, N.C.- based Belk, Inc. (www.belk.com) is the nation's largest privately owned mainline departmeent store company with 305 Belk stores located in 16 Southern states. The company was founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, N.C., and is in the third generation of Belk family leadership. Its Belk.com Web site offers a wide assortment of fashion apparel, shoes and accessories for the entire family along with top name cosmetics, a wedding gift registry and a large selection of quality merchandise for the home.