LL Flooring files for bankruptcy and will close 94 stores; Bend’s store not on closure list

New York (CNN) — LL Flooring, formerly known as Lumber Liquidators, has filed for bankruptcy and will close 94 of its stores across the United States.

But the retailer is not liquidating itself immediately, as the company recently announced that it had entered Chapter 11, which allows for a re-organization rather than a wind-down of the business. Instead, LL Flooring will use the process to seek a sale of the 30-year-old business, which said it’s in “active negotiations with multiple bidders,” according to a press release.

Major furniture retailers are continuing to struggle after a pandemic boom, particularly as Americans deal with persistent inflation. Plus, discretionary big-ticket items, such as furniture, have quickly dropped off the shopping list for more budget-conscious consumers.

That means that it’s much tougher out there for companies like LL Flooring.

“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,” said CEO Charles Tyson.

He added that the process gives the company “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.”

LL Flooring, which changed its name in 2021, has about 300 locations and sells 500 varieties of hard-surface floors. It has secured $130 million in debtor-in-possession capital to sustain operations and pay vendors.

A list of closures is available on its website. (The Bend store, on Robal Lane, is not on the closure list; the only Oregon store set to close is in Albany.)

Customers cutting back spending on non-essential items has hurt a number of retailers, even putting some out of business.

That has resulted in furniture chains Z Gallerie and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams filing for bankruptcy within the past year and Wayfair drastically reducing its workforce.

Conn’s HomePlus, a 134-year-old furniture and electronics retailer, recently filed for bankruptcy and is in the process of closing all of its stores. Most recently, Big Lots said it plans to shutter a quarter of its stores.

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