A Florida department store chain is changing to compete with bigger ones. What to know

James A. Jones Jr.
·2 min read

Bealls is rebranding two of its largest retail chains.

Here’s what to know:

What’s happening with Bealls?

New names: The company’s 68 Bealls stores in Florida are becoming Bealls Florida. And the company’s 600 Bealls Outlet and Burkes Outlet stores in 23 states are being rebranded bealls, with a lower case “b.”

The word “outlet” is being dropped from the company brand to to avoid misconceptions about the origin and quality of its merchandise, the company said in a press release.

Changing Burkes to bealls was made possible by Bealls Inc. acquisition of the national name rights to “Bealls” in 2020 from Stage Stores Inc.

Rebranding of its brick and mortar stores to “Bealls Florida” aligns with the company’s ecommerce business, www.BeallsFlorida.com, and the chain’s Live.Life.Local. marketing campaign.

Reason for the change

Competition: The rebranding campaign highlights the company’s desire to differentiate and distance itself from the traditional department store model.

“We are very excited about the changes to our two largest store chains, bealls and Bealls Florida. Uniting Burkes Outlet and Bealls Outlet as bealls is very appealing and in the long term will reduce confusion while increasing brand awareness,” Matt Beall, Bealls Inc. chairman and CEO, said in a press release.

“We feel that it elevates the perception of our stores to match the quality of merchandise that exists in our stores today,” Beall said.

“We are equally excited about our update to the Bealls Florida chain to align with our website. These changes will allow us to achieve our limitless potential as we continue to compete directly with larger public corporations like TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Kohl’s,” he said.

Bradenton company has grown

Time frame: All stores are scheduled to see their signs change and complete the rebranding by the end of 2023.

Expansion: Although many retailers have struggled and some have gone out of business in recent years, Bealls Inc. added over 150 store locations in the past 2 1/2 years.

History: Bealls Inc., headquartered and founded in Bradenton in 1915, is a privately held company that has been owned and operated by the founding family for over 100 years.

Locations: The company operates more than 600 retail stores in 23 states under the names bealls, Bealls Florida, Home Centric and Rugged Earth Outfitters and online at beallsflorida.com and beallsoutlet.com. Beallsoutlet.com will become bealls.com.

Bealls Outlet and Burkes Outlet have stores in Florida, Georgia, Arizona, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to the company website.

To know more

Contact: To learn more about Bealls Inc., visit http://www.beallsinc.com.

By the end of 2023, this is how the signage at all Bealls Outlet and Burkes Outlet stores will look across the United States.
By the end of 2023, this is how the signage at all Bealls Outlet and Burkes Outlet stores will look across the United States.