Bankruptcy Filing for Lumber Liquidators Leads to Louisiana Closures

The announcement came down Sunday evening that LL Flooring, previously known as Lumber Liquidators, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and that filing will impact Louisiana. Officials with LL Flooring announced they will be closing 94 of their locations including two in Louisiana.

According to officials with the company, they are seeking protection from $110 million in debt. According to Yahoo Finance, the company has struggled for years with various challenges that only increased following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Charles Tyson, President and Chief Executive Officer said the following in a press release Sunday,

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.

The group is working towards a better financial position while also marketing the company to potential buyers. The Corporate Governance Institute defines a "going-concern sale" as the following,

In essence, it is a term used to describe the health of a business. A business operating as a going concern is expected to trade for 12 months or more without any threat of liquidation.

As part of yesterday's announcement, LL Flooring announced they will be closing 94 of their 263 stores. Two locations in Louisiana will be closing, and these are the two that will close:

• LL Flooring #1187 at 3401 Highway 90 in Broussard
• LL Flooring #1394 at 3415 Derek Drive in Lake Charles

All stores that will be closing are holding closing sales, and those sales will end no later than September 29 according to company officials.

Market Watch reports the following about the company:

The company's troubles began in 2015 after a "60 Minutes" report said the company sold laminate flooring made in China that contained high levels of cancer-causing formaldehyde. The report led to a number of class-action suits seeking compensation, as criminal charges were filed against it by the U.S. government.

LL Flooring will still sell products via its website. The company is actively looking for a buyer.