Live Ventures Announces Successful Turnaround of its Subsidiary Flooring Liquidators

Rhea-AI Summary

Live Ventures (Nasdaq: LIVE) announced a successful turnaround of its subsidiary Flooring Liquidators, achieving four consecutive months of positive EBITDA through July 2025. Under new CEO Chris Nichols' leadership, the 30-store flooring retailer reversed a 24-month streak of losses, reporting its first year-over-year revenue increase in July 2025.

The turnaround was driven by four key initiatives: cost containment through automation and logistics optimization, implementation of individual store accountability, improvements in product mix with private label expansion from 12% to 25%, and workforce development. The company maintains a competitive advantage with its three-day delivery promise and projects record growth for FY2026.

Live Ventures plans aggressive expansion for Flooring Liquidators, targeting 100+ new stores this decade.

Positive

• Achieved positive EBITDA for four consecutive months through July 2025
• First year-over-year revenue increase achieved in July 2025
• Private label product mix increased from 12% to 25%, driving higher margins
• Significant expansion planned with 100+ new stores targeted this decade
• Operational efficiency improvements through automation and logistics optimization

Negative

• Previous 24 consecutive months of losses before turnaround
• Historical issues with decreasing margins and gradual sales decline
• Past inefficiencies in inventory management and logistics operations

Insights

Financial Turnaround Specialist

After 24 months of losses, Flooring Liquidators achieves four consecutive months of positive EBITDA through operational improvements and leadership changes.

This turnaround story for Live Ventures' subsidiary Flooring Liquidators represents a significant operational pivot. After 24 consecutive months of losses, the company has achieved four consecutive months of positive EBITDA through July 2025, with July also marking the first month of year-over-year revenue growth. This reversal demonstrates how targeted operational improvements can transform performance trajectories.

The four-pronged turnaround approach provides a textbook case of middle-market business rehabilitation. The cost containment initiatives focused on automation, AI, vendor-direct sourcing, and warehouse footprint optimization address fundamental operational inefficiencies. Particularly noteworthy is the company's three-day delivery promise – an exceptional competitive advantage in the flooring industry where longer lead times are standard.

The pivot to increased accountability represents a critical management correction. The previous model granted store managers outsized discretion without sufficient corporate oversight, creating performance visibility issues across locations. The new balanced approach maintains local authority while enabling performance benchmarking and best practice replication.

Perhaps most significant from a margin perspective is the private label expansion from 12% to 25% of product mix. This strategic shift creates substantial margin improvement opportunities while providing greater quality control – addressing both financial and customer satisfaction imperatives simultaneously.

The projected Fiscal Year 2026 growth and Live Ventures' expansion target of 100+ new stores indicate confidence in the sustainability of these operational improvements. While ambitious, the scaled application of these proven efficiency measures could support such expansion if properly executed and capitalized.

• Company Announces Four Consecutive Months of Positive EBITDA
  
  

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Live Ventures Incorporated (Nasdaq: LIVE), a diversified holding company with a focus on value-oriented acquisitions of domestic, middle-market companies, today announced the performance turnaround of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Flooring Liquidators Inc. Flooring Liquidators is a leading 30-store retailer and installer of floors, carpets, and countertops; it was acquired by Live Ventures in fiscal year 2023.

Jon Isaac, President and Chief Executive of Live Ventures, attributed the turnaround to Flooring Liquidators’ CEO Chris Nichols and the new leadership team Nichols has built. “When Chris took the reins a few months ago, Flooring Liquidators had experienced 24 consecutive months of losses, decreasing margins, and a gradual loss of sales,” Isaac said. “In the few ensuing months since he took over, Flooring Liquidators achieved positive EBITDA for four consecutive months through July 2025, with a first month of year-over-year revenue increase in July 2025.”

Isaac said that Flooring Liquidators projects Fiscal Year 2026 to be a year of record growth and strong profitability.

Mr. Nichols enumerated the drivers of the turnaround, highlighting these four key initiatives:

One was cost containment and expense reductions made possible by sharpening systems and focusing on logistics. “Our aggressive focus on automation, AI, vendor-direct sourcing, and limiting our warehouse footprint continues to make us more efficient,” Nichols said.

Nichols emphasized the company’s ability to deliver product within three days, calling it a major differentiator. “Three-day delivery is almost unthinkable in this business. We’ve turned it into a promise, thanks in part to upgrades in our technology.”

The company also made common sense changes in inventory management. For example, Nichols noted the inefficiencies of running a 53-foot truck for a single store. “Our VP of Operations & Logistics, Dr. Thomas Price, says it’s like driving a school bus to deliver a single pizza — and we’re fixing that.”

A second factor Nichols cited is the implementation of individual store accountability. In years past, store managers were given out-sized discretionary authority, which was a well-intended encouragement to individual initiative. The downside, from the standpoint of overall company performance, however, was a lax understanding of comparative stores’ performance.

“Although an individual manager’s authority is essential to our geographically dispersed entity,” Nichols said, “corporate-level oversight is just as essential. We’re now better able to see and replicate successful practices, as well as to identify performance lags and problems that we can address.”

Third, Nichols cited improvements on the product mix and marketing side. “We have a robust and growing line of private label products, increasing private label from 12% to 25% of our total mix. This shift is significant, as private label drives higher margins while also giving us greater control over product quality.”

Finally, Nichols attributed the greatest positive impact to the talent and hard work of Flooring Liquidators’ workforce and senior managers. “Our people are going through many changes — not all of them easy and comfortable to embrace. But employees don’t buy into memos and platitudes; they buy into leaders they trust — and I’m proud of our diversified management team of company veterans and fresh blood.” Nichols explained that low prices get customers in the door — but professional services and personal expertise make the sale. “And for that, our people deserve all the credit.”

Looking ahead, Mr. Isaac expressed excitement over Live Ventures’ aggressive expansion plans for Flooring Liquidators. Isaac said that having one hundred new stores or more this decade “is almost inevitable if we stay disciplined.”

About Flooring Liquidators
Founded in 1997, Fairfield, California-based Flooring Liquidators is a leading retailer and installer of flooring, carpeting, and countertops for consumers, builders, and contractors in California, Nevada, and the Midwest. It operates 30 warehouse-format stores and design centers. Over the years, the company has established a strong reputation for innovation, efficiency, and service in the home renovation and improvement market. Flooring Liquidators serves retail and builder customers through two businesses: retail customers through its Flooring Liquidators retail stores, and builder and contractor customers through Elite Builder Services, Inc.

About Live Ventures
Live Ventures Incorporated (Nasdaq: LIVE) is a diversified holding company with a strategic focus on value-oriented acquisitions of domestic middle-market companies. Live Ventures’ acquisition strategy is sector-agnostic, targeting companies with a proven track record of stable cash flows and strong market positions. The Company’s current portfolio of diversified operating subsidiaries includes companies in the textile, flooring, tools, steel, and entertainment industries.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
The use of the word “Company” refers to Live Ventures and its wholly owned subsidiaries. Certain statements in this press release contain or may suggest “forward-looking” information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Words such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” and similar statements are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Live Ventures may also make forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, in its annual reports to stockholders, in press releases and other written materials, and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and there are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by the Company, including, but not limited to, plans and objectives of management for future operations or products, the market acceptance or future success of our products, and our future financial performance. The Company cautions that these forward-looking statements are further qualified by other factors including, but not limited to, those set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. Additionally, new risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all such risk factors, or to assess the impact such risk factors might have on our business. Live Ventures undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:

Live Ventures Incorporated
Greg Powell, Director of Investor Relations
725.500.5597
gpowell@liveventures.com
www.liveventures.com

Source: Live Ventures Incorporated

FAQ

What improvements has Live Ventures (LIVE) made at Flooring Liquidators since acquisition?

Under new CEO Chris Nichols, Flooring Liquidators achieved four consecutive months of positive EBITDA, implemented cost containment measures, improved store accountability, expanded private label products from 12% to 25%, and optimized logistics operations.

How many stores does Flooring Liquidators currently operate and what are its expansion plans?

Flooring Liquidators currently operates 30 stores and plans to expand to over 100 stores this decade according to Live Ventures' aggressive growth strategy.

What is Flooring Liquidators' competitive advantage in the market?

The company maintains a three-day delivery promise, which is unique in the industry, supported by automation, AI, vendor-direct sourcing, and optimized logistics operations.

How has Flooring Liquidators' private label strategy impacted its business?

The company increased its private label products from 12% to 25% of total mix, resulting in higher margins and better control over product quality.

What were the main challenges Flooring Liquidators faced before the turnaround?

The company experienced 24 consecutive months of losses, decreasing margins, and gradual sales decline before the new management team implemented turnaround initiatives.