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LL Flooring has confirmed it will be moving forward under its previous name.
The retailer quietly filed for bankruptcy in August, and will now return to its iconic Lumber Liquidators title, thanks to a new owner.
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Not long after its filing, the situation was looking grim for LL Flooring, with a wave of 94 closures expected among its over 400 locations.
It was confirmed that the Chapter 11 filing was made in hopes of reorganizing and selling to one of “multiple bidders,” as per a press release.
Those bidders seemingly didn’t come through for some time, as a statement posted to LL Flooring’s website on September 4 indicated an offer was not secured and it would have to close all of its stores.
Two days later, private equity firm F9 Investments saved the day and made an offer, with LL Flooring signing an agreement to sell.
Read More on Bankruptcies
The deal is expected to close by the end of this month.
F9 Investments is owned by Tom Sullivan, who founded LL Flooring under its previous Lumber Liquidators name in 1994.
Sullivan confirmed that he would be purchasing 219 stores in the deal, and would reopen them as Lumber Liquidators locations, per The Associated Press.
It’s one significant step among several that Sullivan intends to take to get the retailer on track.
IF IT AIN’T BROKE
For him, it’s about considering what’s worked in the past.
“We’ll be getting back to basics,” Sullivan told the publication.
“Basically, yellow and black is coming back … we know that worked before.”
“It’s not fancy offices in Richmond with 200 people that didn’t know the flooring business,” he added.
“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.”
Sullivan explained that along with the name and color changes, the LL Flooring stores he purchased will reduce its product selection to eliminate repetitive offerings.
LL Flooring Closure States
LL Flooring filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 11, 2024. The retailer confirmed that 94 locations would be closing across 31 states. The complete list of states with closures are provided below:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Massachussets
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Click here to see the full list of stores.
SAY GOODBYE
He said customers could expect significant sales in the inventory being let go.
Additionally, Sullivan’s other company that he founded and is owned by F9 Investments, Cabinets To Go, will be working with the acquired LL Flooring stores to improve shipping processes.
While significant changes are set for the 219 stores, the rest of LL Floorings remaining 211 locations will shutdown.
LL Flooring also cited over $416 million in debt as of July 31 in its bankruptcy filing, with around $501 million in assets.
Big Lots also filed for bankruptcy recently after several weeks of speculation and will close 545 stores.
Furniture and electronics retailer Conn’s HomePlus will also shutter its locations after a Chapter 11 filing this summer.
