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EXHIBIT 31.1

CERTIFICATIONS

I, Thomas M. Belk, Jr., certify that:



|1. |  | I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Belk,
Inc.;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
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|2. |  | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect
to the period covered by this report;
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|3. |  | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
financial information included in this report, fairly present in all
material respects the financial condition, results of operations and
cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented
in this report;                   
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|4. |  | The registrants other certifying officer and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and
procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and
15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:                                                                               



|a. |  | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures,
or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be
designed under our supervision, to ensure that material
information relating to the registrant, including its
consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within
those entities, particularly during the period in which this
report is being prepared;
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|b. |  | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants
disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report
our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure
controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by
this report based on such evaluation; and                                                                                           
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|c. |  | Disclosed in this report any changes in the
registrants internal control over financial reporting that
occurred during the registrants most recent fiscal quarter
that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to
materially affect, the registrants internal control over
financial reporting; and                                                               



|5. |  | The registrants other certifying officer and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control
over financial reporting, to the registrants auditors and the audit
committee of registrants board of directors (or persons performing
the equivalent functions):
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|a. |  | All significant deficiencies and material
weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over
financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely
affect the registrants ability to record, process, summarize
and report financial information; and
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|b. |  | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
management or other employees who have a significant role in
the registrants internal control over financial reporting.                                                                                               

Date: September 9, 2004/s/ Thomas M. Belk, Jr.Thomas M. Belk, Jr.Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer