Belk unveils its new look

Bethany Fuller
bfuller@newsadvance.com

LYNCHBURG, Va. - Camera lights and director’s chairs lined the aisles in the cosmetic department of Belk in the River Ridge mall Friday.

Women gathered in the aisles, to be pampered and made over.

Belk is holding its grand re-opening to showcase its $3.7 million makeover.

Belk customer Pilar Divina appreciates the new look.

Juggling an armful of Belk bags Friday morning, Divina said she thought the recent renovation of the store made it look better.

“It looks airy, more open,” she said.

She said the store used to look a little darker and crowded.

Divina’s description of the store’s new look should make Regional Store Manager Dan Fortune happy; it is the look that Belk officials were going for.

Renovations started in May and ended Nov. 2. Fortune said employees were able to keep the store open throughout the renovation by sectioning off departments that were undergoing transformation.

Space in the 153,000-square-foot store was reallocated to offer more women’s and men’s clothing, accessories, shoes, cosmetics and other quality merchandise for the family and home.

The store installed new tile, changed the lighting and the color of the store’s walls, ceiling and floor to make it more customer friendly.

The cosmetics department was probably the hardest portion of the store to complete, Fortune said. It was one of the few departments in the store that required workers to come in after the store was closed, said Edward Grisetti Jr., superintendent for Frisch & Associates Construction Company Inc., the contractors for the renovation.

Fortune said the most dramatic changes are in the shoe and cosmetic departments. The departments were expanded based upon sales per square foot, Fortune said.

During the renovation, the store got rid of some of its unused storage space to expand its sales area. Fortune said the store does not use that storage area because all merchandise is usually on the floor.

The store’s aisles, which Fortune said used to meander around, are now straight and functional.

Fortune said part of the second floor was not finished because of the project’s deadline. He said the construction company might come back at a later time to finish the job.

The store will hold re-opening events through Sunday.