FL-Based Department Store Rebranding Its Two Largest Retail Chains

BRADENTON, FL — In a move to compete with stores like TJ Maxx and Kohl’s, Bealls, Inc. is rebranding two of its largest retail chains, according to a news release.

The Bradenton-based company’s 600 Bealls Outlet and Burkes Oulet stores across 23 states are merging under a new name – bealls with a lowercase “b.”

The word “outlet” will also be removed from the name, as it’s “dated and can lead to misconceptions about the origin and quality of their merchandise,” the company said.

Rebranding Burkes to bealls is possible because of the Bealls, Inc. acquisition of the national name rights to Bealls in 2020 from Stage Stores Inc., according to the news release.

The company also operates a retail chain that exists only in Florida and is commonly referred to as Bealls Department Stores or just Bealls, it said. This 68-store chain will be rebranded as Bealls Florida to align with the company’s ecommerce business www.BeallsFlorida.com, and the chain’s Live.Life.Local. marketing campaign.

These changes also highlight the company’s “desire to differentiate and distance itself from the traditional department store model,” Bealls, Inc. said.

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

He added, “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.”

The rebranding of all stores will be completed by the end of 2023.