LL Flooring's Sales Declined 19.7% in Q3, Loss of $29.6 Million

Richmond, VA, November 8, 2023-LL Flooring reported net sales of $215.8 million for Q3 2023, a decline of 19.7% versus Q3 2022’s $268.8 million, driven by a decrease in transaction count reflecting lower spending by consumers and Pros.

For Q3 2023, the operating loss was $29.6 million, compared to $4.1 million in the prior year period.

Total comparable store sales decreased 20.5% versus the same period last year.

During Q3 2023, the company opened one store, bringing total stores to 443 as of September 30.

For the first nine months of 2023, net sales were $693 million, an 18.2% decline compared to net sales of $846.8 million in the same period last year.

The net loss for the first nine months of 2023 was $85.5 million, compared to a net income of $3 million in the same period last year.

"We continue to navigate uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment due to low consumer confidence, inflation, an elevated interest and mortgage rate environment and lower existing home sales. Despite external headwinds, we remain confident in our ability to deliver the high-touch service of an independent flooring retailer combined with the value, assortment, and convenience of a national brand," said president and chief executive officer Charles Tyson.

"We are disappointed in our third quarter results, which continued to be negatively impacted by the macroeconomic environment, as well as internal challenges that we are focused on as we execute against our strategic initiatives. To that end, we remain committed and continue to execute on our brand transformation strategy and our five strategic initiatives, which include: focusing investments on our top growth priorities; growing our brand awareness; enhancing our product offerings by innovating products; ensuring a consistent customer experience across our omnichannel network; and improving operating efficiencies. We believe each initiative will improve sales productivity and profitability long term.

"I believe that we are seeing promising signs that our strategic initiatives are starting to improve our capabilities, and this gives us confidence that we will return to growth as the economic environment improves and, in the long term, regain share in what we believe will be a growing industry that is driven by long-term tailwinds for hard surface flooring and remodels such as aging housing stock, increased household formation, and rising home values."