Richmond, Virginia-based discount flooring chain LL Flooring, formerly known as Lumber Liquidators, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will close 94 of its existing 300 stores as part of the reorganization.
Stores closing include LL Flooring in Woodbridge, Virginia, along with locations in Edgewood and Lutherville, Maryland. Other D.C.-area stores are not affected, including locations in Chantilly, Manassas, Leesburg, Beltsville and Rockville.
The stores closing, including Woodbridge, will have going out of business sales to clear inventory before permanently closing. A list of store closings is online.
LL Flooring said it was in active negotiations with multiple bidders, and hopes to win bankruptcy court approval to sell its business within the first few weeks of its Chapter 11 proceedings.
“After comprehensive efforts to enhance our liquidity position in a challenging macro environment, a determination was made that initiating this Chapter 11 process is the best path forward for the company,” CEO Charles Tyson said in a statement.
Lumber Liquidators was founded in 1994. It changed its name to LL Flooring in 2022.
The company was subject of a 60 Minutes investigation in 2015 that said the company was selling Chinese-made laminate flooring with high levels of cancer-causing formaldehyde, which led to criminal charges filed by the U.S. government and several class-action lawsuits.
LL Flooring had $189 million in first quarter sales, down 21.7% from a year earlier. It posted a $29 million first quarter loss.