Indianapolis - Another Indianapolis department store is sold, and changing names.
Parisian has two stores in Indiana, both in Indianapolis. One at Circle Centre downtown, and the other at the Fashion Mall on the North Side.
Alabama-based Saks sheds it Parisian division with two of the chains' 38 stores in Indianapolis. A deal worth 285 million cash. The buyer is Charlotte-based Belk department stores, the nation's largest privately, held department store group with 275 stores in 16 states, but there are none in Indiana. The department store first opened at the Fashion Mall in 1993.
Parisian opened with fanfare two years later at Circle Center. News of the sale, the latest in a series of Indiana department stores changing hands and names, barely raises an eyebrow among shoppers.
"It does not make any difference to me. I don't shop there," said Elizabeth Martin.
"I've probably shopped there twice and it doesn't make a difference to me that they sold except I did get a charge card with them recently and I don't know it it makes a difference on that account or not," said Alice Nichols.
Belk, which operates stores in the east, southeast and southwest, gets a high-end department store name that executives said on Wednesday they plan to change to the Belk brand, adding that it's Indiana store will remain open.
"Unless it was a big store that I was very loyal to my entire life, maybe it would be a different story. But Parisian, no," said Jessica Nichols.
Still, Parisian has a strong customer base for a relatively small chain with revenues of about 723 million dollars last year. It now becomes the latest acquisition in the long-stranding retail strategy of buying out the competition.
