by Jennifer Hodson
of The Daily Times, Maryville, TN
Given the retail chain's long, rich history in the community, the loss of the Proffitt's name and headquarters will have a significant impact on Blount County.
``A change like this is never easy,'' said Fred Forster, president and CEO of the Blount County Chamber of Commerce. ``The homegrown Proffitt's name going into the sunset is a hard thing to feel real good about.''
However, he did see a bright side -- employees at the Proffitt's/McRae's division headquarters in Alcoa who do not move to Charlotte, N.C., will offer other Blount County companies ``a wonderful talent pool'' to choose from, Forster said.
Forster said that while it is sad to see Proffitt's go, Blount County will welcome Belk.
He added that he hopes chamber officials will get a chance to meet with representatives of the North Carolina company during the transition.
Among other questions, chamber personnel want to ask Belk if any part of the Proffitt's headquarters can remain in Blount County ``even though that seems unlikely,'' Forster said.
Alcoa Mayor Don Mull, likewise, expressed disappointment that the Proffitt's/McRae's Alcoa headquarters' time in the community is limited.
``We certainly hate to see them move,'' he said. ``They do employ a lot of people in Blount County.''
The Alcoa headquarters has 275 employees which will have opportunities to interview with Belk. If they do not receive job offers, or decide not to move, the employees will get severance packages.
Still, any time jobs leave the city of Alcoa, Mull said, ``We hate to see that happen.''
At Foothills Mall, where Proffitt's has two stores that will become Belk stores next year, marketing director KaLyn Rehrig said, ``We love our Proffitt's stores, but whatever changes are in store we'll welcome them.''
With an 81,000-square-foot women's store and a 63,000-square-foot store that houses men's and children's apparel and housewares, Proffitt's is by far the mall's largest tenant.
Asked if she was surprised at the announcement, Rehrig said simply, ``Mergers are happening everywhere throughout the industry, and we will continue to see large mergers take place.''
She said she has shopped at Belk stores before, in other cities, and described the retail concept there as being ``a lot like Proffitt's.''
She said Belk will be a good fit for the mall and ``will help us provide a diversified retail mix.''
When Proffitt's stores make the switch to the Belk name next year, Rehrig said the mall would help promote Belk the way it helps all its anchor tenants.
For example, the Belk name will appear in any mall-initiated advertising. Additionally, Foothills Mall will make internal signage and table tents available to the retailer, she said.
Impact on United Way
Blount County United Way is also expecting to feel the effect of the corporate departure.
In both 2003 and 2004, Proffitt's had more individuals pledging $1,000 or more to United Way than any other company in Blount County.
In 2003, 31 Proffitt's employees gave $1,000 or more. In 2004, the number grew to 39.
Store employees, who are not leaving the community, have contributed generously to United Way, but Davis said ``a sizable portion'' of the company's donations have come out the corporate office.
Overall, Proffitt's employees -- from both the stores and headquarters -- pledged $82,800 to Blount County United Way in 2004. That represents about 4.5 percent of the $1.85 million the local nonprofit raised that year.
``We will just have to seek out other community businesses to make up the difference,'' Davis said.
In addition to money, lots of the company's employees volunteer with a wide variety of local charitable organizations.
``That's the type of involvement that we hate to loose. I certainly hope a lot of these people will be able to stay in this area,'' she said. ``Proffitt's has been in our community for many, many years. They've been a good community citizen.''
She also offered praise to Proffitt's/McRae's president Toni Browning who has served on the Blount County United Way board.
Leading by example, Browning ``has truly encouraged her employees to give back,'' Davis said.
As for Belk, Davis said she was hopeful that company will follow Proffitt's example.
``We would welcome them to Blount County and welcome their involvement in the community,'' she said.
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