Retail Development Program Overview

Belk offers talented and ambitious recent graduates the opportunity to work in multiple areas of our business. The Retail Development Program (RDP) is a fast-paced three-month program designed to prepare recent college graduates for a full-time role at Belk. We offer opportunities in several of our business functions including Merchandising, Planning, Supply Chain and more! The program focuses on key components to support your development: Education, Experience, Exposure, Innovation and Results.

The Retail Development Program – Planning will hire a class of program participants in our Charlotte, NC headquarters. RDPs are required to move and live in the Charlotte, NC Metro area. 

Planning - Position Summary

The Retail Development Program – Planning prepares you for your first position as an Assistant Planner. The primary responsibilities of an Assistant Planner will include building merchandise financial plans, vendor or class as appropriate, that support the merchandise strategies while achieving corporate financial goals. In addition, they partner with the Planner to conduct key business analysis, to maximize profitability. Through our hands-on learning approach, participants assume job responsibilities quickly while completing a robust learning curriculum. In addition to on-the-job learning, participants will engage with a variety of senior leaders across the company, attend networking events and learn from top talent in the business.  Planning RDPs are placed within a Buying office to experience the job first-hand. Participants are also matched with mentors to help acclimate to Belk and develop on the job. 

On the Job

Work in a fast paced, dynamic, test and learn environmentSupport and drive the profitability of your office/department with your Buyer and PlannerSupport development of style/SKU counts and replenishment strategies by location/clusterAnalyze current sales trend, inventory levels and past selling history to help develop distribution strategies and support allocations to achieve optimal inventory levels by storeOptimizing Inventory by store to create the most profitable assortmentSupport team in producing/ongoing management of vendor and item planning as neededProvide business support through report generation and analysis of business results

Position Requirements

Bachelor's degree required; Strong academic performance in Business, Finance, Operations, or another related field, strongly preferred.  Prior internship in field strongly preferredKnowledge of Microsoft Office, specifically Excel  (Advanced Formulas and Functions, Data Analytics , and charting, Data Cleansing, Data Consolidation)Must have graduated within 6 months of May 2025 and able to start full time August 2025Passion for solving problems; strong analytical and critical thinking skills and aptitude with numbersOpen to learning, able to adapt to changing circumstances and reprioritize tasks as neededAbility to communicate effectively with clients and partners at all levels of the organizationMust be authorized to work in the United States and not require work authorization sponsorship by Belk for this positionSkill-based needs: Advanced Excel ( functions and formulas, VLookup, HLookup, pivot tables, conditional formatting, forecasting, and trend analyis), data analysis, data management, data cleansing, data security, and data visualization