Lumber Liquidators will still sell China-made flooring

NEW YORK, March 14: The founder and chairman of Lumber Liquidators said Friday that the retailer currently has no plans to stop selling laminate flooring made in China, even as it continues to face fallout from a “60 Minutes” report that questioned the safety of such laminates.

The “60 Minutes” report earlier this month said Lumber Liquidators’ laminate flooring made in China contained high levels of formaldehyde, a carcinogen. The report said Lumber Liquidators’ laminate flooring fell short of California’s standards. The company denies that and says it complies with all regulations for its products.

In a telephone interview with CNBC Friday, Lumber Liquidators founder and Chairman Tom Sullivan said there are certain laminates that China is better at, adding that the company will “sell what customers want.”

With the attention the “60 Minutes” report has drawn to the China-made laminates, Sullivan said the market will determine if Lumber Liquidators continues to sell such laminates in the future.

The executive also criticized “60 Minutes,” saying the television program “distorted the facts.”

Sullivan’s comments Friday on CNBC come one day after Lumber Liquidators announced that it would pay for the safety testing of laminate floors for customers to help ease concerns. The testing being offered is limited to customers with Chinese laminate flooring.

ASSOCIATED PRESS