Home Improvement Chain Closing Hundreds Of Stores, 11 In Illinois

When things were really good for this company, fresh off expanding, they had over 400 locations across 47 different states. But, that was back in 2020, and this is 2024. Times change, and things have gotten worse, not better, for this particular chain of home improvement stores.

The stores were called Lumber Liquidators for a time, then they became LL Flooring.

The real problems began when the long-running CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes" ran a report on Lumber Liquidators that resulted in serious litigation.

ABC News:

A 2015 segment of “60 Minutes" reported that laminate flooring it was selling had illegal and dangerous levels of formaldehyde. Lumber Liquidators later said it would stop selling the product, which was manufactured in China, and agreed to pay $36 million to settle two class-action lawsuits in 2017.

LL Flooring Is Planning On Closing Over 200 Locations Across The Country, But They Were Very, Very Close To Ordering All Of Their Locations To Be Shut Down Just Last Friday

The change from "shut them all down" to "shut down a lot of them" happened when LL Flooring managed to find a buyer for the company late Friday afternoon. The private equity firm that's sweeping in to save the day by buying the company will keep 219 stores and a distribution center open, but will permanently close around 211 stores.

On their website (LLFlooring.com), they want you to know that even though some stores are closing, they're still in business:

LL Flooring is open for business. The stores below are closing soon, but you can still shop online or click here to see over 200 stores open and ready to serve you.

LL Flooring Currently Has 15 Illinois Locations, But 11 Of Them Are On The Chopping Block For Permanent Closure

The new owners of LL Flooring say that in addition to the nearly 300 store closures, they're going to go back to basics with the company name. They'll be moving forward under their old name, Lumber Liquidators, with store signage to reflect the changes. The company hopes to have all store closures completed within the next 12 weeks.

Here are the 11 out of 15 LL Flooring spots that will soon be closing forever in Illinois:

• Bloomington - 1701 E. Empire St.
• Champaign - 301 W. Marketview Dr.
• Crystal Lake - 4500 W. Northwest Hwy
• East Peoria - 1467 N. Main St.
• Fairview Heights - 5520 N. Illinois St.
• Geneva - 1530 S. Randall Rd.
• Lombard - 543 E. Roosevelt Rd.
• Mundelein - 3080 W. Route 60
• Naperville - 2603 Aurora Ave.
• Rockford - 3290 S. Alpine Rd.
• South Elgin - 356 Randall Rd.