Belk is the largest privately owned department store chain in the US, founded by William Henry Belk in 1888 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It sells apparel, beauty and home products through nearly 300 Belk, Belk Market and Belk Outlet stores in 16 Southeastern states and online at belk.com, and has about 17,000 employees. It has been majority-owned by Sycamore Partners since 2015.