LL Flooring Files for Bankruptcy, Plans to Close 94 Stores

Retailer LL Flooring filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday and announced it would close 94 stores in the process.

The Virginia-based company, which was founded in 1994 as Lumber Liquidators, has nearly $110 million in long-term debt after facing a drop in customer spending on home-improvement projects during the pandemic, Bloomberg reported.

LL Flooring said it is “in active negotiations with multiple bidders” to find a buyer and “hopes to seek bankruptcy court approval of a sale” in the first few weeks of proceedings, the announcement said.

“Today’s step is intended to provide LL Flooring with additional time and financial flexibility as we reduce our physical footprint and close certain stores while pursuing a going-concern sale of the rest of our business,” President and CEO Charles Tyson said in a statement. “As we move through this process, we are committed to continuing to serve our valued customers, and to working seamlessly with our vendors and partners.”

The company will ultimately close 94 of its 300 locations across the country, but those stores will remain open and serve customers through the bankruptcy, LL Flooring said.

Of those, 34 stores will shutter across California, Texas, Florida and Illinois, including the company’s San Diego and Florida City locations. New York’s Staten Island store will also cease operations.

A group of lenders, including Bank of America (BAC), has provided financing of $130 million to fund the business’s operations during bankruptcy proceedings.

While operating under the Lumber Liquidators name, the company was forced to pay $33 million in fines for misleading investors after a “60 Minutes” report found its flooring contained dangerous formaldehyde levels. The business changed its name to LL Flooring in 2022.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.