Feds come calling on Lumber Liquidators

Fast-growing flooring retailer Lumber Liquidators got an unpleasant surprise on Thursday when representatives from several federal agencies showed up at the company’s Toano, Va., headquarter with search warrants in hand.

Lumber Liquidators, the nation’s largest specialty retailer of hardwood flooring in North America with more than 300 locations, disclosed that the actions by federal authorities, including the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, were related to the importation of certain wood flooring products.

“The Company takes its sourcing and compliance very seriously, and is cooperating with authorities to provide them with requested information,” Lumber Liquidators said in a statement.

The company went on to note that it sources products directly from approximately 110 domestic and international mills around the world which subjects it to a range of international and domestic regulations. Due to the scale of its international and domestic operations, Lumber Liquidators has policies and procedures in place for the sourcing, harvesting and manufacturing of its products designed to comply with federal and other regulations related to the importation of wood flooring products, the company said.

“The company has more than 60 professionals around the world who perform and monitor those processes. Quality is a key component of Lumber Liquidators' value proposition, and through its commitment to continuous improvement, the company invests significant resources for quality control and assurance,” according to the statement.