LL Flooring, Home Depot’s once major competitor in the flooring sector, formerly known as Lumber Liquidators, is closing all of its stores just weeks after filing for bankruptcy.

The 30-year-old home improvement store, which once operated over 400 stores in the United States, said it had decided to liquidate after several negotiations failed to produce the “best offer for the company.”

“LL Flooring has worked hard to achieve a sale of the business while retaining operations and has actively negotiated with several bidders. However, these discussions have not resulted in an offer with the necessary financing that would maximize the value of LL Flooring,” the company said in an update on its restructuring plan.

“Under the provisions of Chapter 11, the Company is required to obtain the highest or otherwise best offer for its business or assets. In this case, it was determined that a sale of the Company’s individual assets, conducting closeout sales at our stores and winding up the business would provide the greatest value to creditors.”

LL Flooring said it began an “orderly store closure” the week of September 3 and that the clearance sale will begin at all remaining stores on September 6.

The closure process is expected to be completed in 12 weeks, but the number of closures may vary by store.

LL Flooring filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 11 and began “voluntary restructuring measures.”

Reports of impending bankruptcy have been circulating since July as the company’s sales have been steadily declining in recent years – presumably due to cuts in consumer spending on renovations in the face of high interest rates and stubborn inflation.

LL Flooring Holdings Inc.’s share price has fallen from 84 cents to 2 cents since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Customers who have placed orders will receive installation within 30 days, but after September 6, the company will stop offering installation services.

Anyone who has already ordered and paid a deposit will no longer be eligible for cancellation and refund as all sales after September 6 are final, the store said.

“We are proud to serve our customers over the years and thank you again for your trust and for turning to us with your flooring needs,” CEO Charles Tyson wrote to customers.

Lumber Liquidators – founded in 1994 by Tom Sullivan – changed its name to LL Flooring in 2021 after the company came under fire in a 2015 “60 Minutes” investigation.

An investigation revealed that large quantities of the supplier’s floor coverings came from China and contained high concentrations of the carcinogenic formaldehyde.

The company agreed in 2019 to pay regulators $33 million to settle federal charges regarding the safety of its laminate flooring.

LL Flooring is the latest company to face difficulties due to ongoing inflation and tight customers.

In July, Bob’s Stores, the beloved store that had supplied clothing to families across the Northeast for 70 years, announced it would permanently close the doors of all of its stores in the nation’s latest retail event.

The 21 locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island were permanently closed on July 14.