Proffitt's

Proffitt's was a department store chain based in Alcoa, Tennessee. On March 8, 2006, the Proffitt's and McRae's stores were converted into Belk stores. Belk acquired the two chains in July 2005 from Saks Incorporated. Jeweler David W. Proffitt and James Ellis founded the Ellis-Proffitt Co. on Main Street in downtown Maryville, Tennessee, in 1919. The first store had seven departments: ladies ready-to-wear, ladies accessories, millinery, men's shoes, dry goods, and bargain basement. Ellis sold his share of the company to Proffitt in 1921 due to illness. The company expanded by opening its second store in Athens, Tennessee in 1936. In the 1960s, the Maryville store moved from downtown to Midland Plaza in Alcoa. In 1982 the store relocated...