LL Flooring Stays Afloat After Finding Last-Minute Buyer

LL Flooring, the hardwood flooring retailer formerly known as Lumber Liquidators, secured a last-minute deal with private equity firm F9 Investments that will keep operations running. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Aug. 11, and had been expected to shutter all stores by the end of the year.

F9 Investments is owned by Tom Sullivan, who founded Lumber Liquidators more than 30 years ago. The deal is expected to close by the end of the month and includes the purchase of 219 stores, a distribution center in Virginia, and intellectual property and other assets. Sullivan told The Associated Press that the stores will once again operate under the Lumber Liquidators name. He added that the company will be closely aligned with Cabinets To Go, another brand he founded and owns through F9.

More than 200 stores are still expected to shutter, however. Those include the locations where closings were already underway and those initiated as part of the bankruptcy action.

Sullivan said the company will be getting back to basics, telling the AP “Basically, yellow and black is coming back. We know what worked before ... It’s great people in our stores that know flooring (and) customers that want a great deal and know Lumber Liquidators is the place to go.”

The company plans to reduce its product offerings, eliminating flooring that feels duplicative or doesn’t sell well. Sullivan told the AP that customers are likely to see big discounts on much of the discontinued inventory. 

Lumber Liquidators was founded in Massachusetts in 1993, and later expanded nationwide. The name was officially changed to LL Flooring in early 2022. In 2023, the company’s net sales fell 18.5%, the AP reported. The decline was blamed on weaker demand due to higher mortgage rates and home prices.

Formaldehyde Lawsuit

In 2015, the company faced legal action after dangerous levels of formaldehyde was found in its laminate flooring. The company stopped selling the product and paid $36 million to settle two class-action lawsuits. In March 2018, the The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved new guidelines regarding formaldehyde emissions in composite wood. The Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products final rule is a direct result of the products sold by Lumber Liquidators.