Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: CHARLES E. TYSON

This year started out slower for LL Flooring, with sales declining by 13.7% — from $279 million in the first quarter of 2022 to $240.7 million in the same quarter this year. Tyson, who has headed the flooring company formerly known as Lumber Liquidators since 2020, said during an earnings call that the period has been “challenging,” due to the inflationary economy’s dampening effect on home improvement spending, especially coming after a busy 2022 during which LL Flooring opened 18 stores. LL Flooring is piloting a carpet section in four stores that will expand in response to customer demand, he added. The company now has 442 stores, 4,500 employees and annual revenue of $1.15 billion.

In June, the company’s board rejected an unsolicited acquisition proposal from Cabinets To Go, a subsidiary of F9 Brands.

Tyson joined LL Flooring in 2018 as chief customer experience officer after spending nine years at Advance Auto Parts, where he worked his way up to executive vice president of merchandising, marketing and supply chain. He previously held senior positions at OfficeMax and Office Depot and was president of Diversitech Group Manufacturing.