TOANO, Va. — Lumber Liquidators said Thursday that about 10,000 of its customers have requested in-home air-quality test kits, after a TV report that raised concerns over levels of formaldehyde in its Chinese-made laminate flooring.
The company recently offered the free air-quality testing program to reassure its customers.
In early March, a report on CBS’s “60 Minutes” said that Lumber Liquidators’ laminate flooring made in China contains high levels of formaldehyde, a carcinogen.
Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. has said that it complies with applicable regulations for its products, including California standards for formaldehyde emissions.
In late March, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said it was investigating the Chinese-made laminate flooring but could expand the investigation if the agency finds reason to do so. Lumber Liquidators has said that it is fully cooperating.
The company has arranged for an independent testing organization to send test kits to customers who request them. The Toano, Va.-based company said that once the customer has the kit, it is up to them to follow the instructions on how to conduct the test and to mail the completed kit to a third-party lab for analysis.
Lumber Liquidators also announced first-quarter revenue of $260 million. This beat the $258.1 million that analysts polled by FactSet expected.
The company said its March sales dropped 12.8 percent from a year ago, to $89.4 million, hurt by the allegations in the TV report. The company will release full results April 29.
