Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Jul. 28, 2012	Aug. 28, 2012 Class A common stock	Aug. 28, 2012 Class B common stock
Entity Registrant Name	BELK INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001051771
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jul. 28, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--02-02
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		41,815,380	902,500