Dive Brief:

• Lumber Liquidators Monday said that Dennis R. Knowles, most recently chief store operations officers at home-improvement retailer Lowe’s, would join the company as COO, effective Wednesday.

• The retailer also reported an even worse sales tumble than expected in the fourth quarter. Shares fell 10% to a seven-year low on Monday. 

• The appointment comes as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month revised its health report on the company’s flooring, saying it has three times the cancer risk it first found. 

Dive Insight:

In his statement, Knowles noted that this is a “pivotal time” for Lumber Liquidators, an obvious statement nevertheless worth stating. 

The company has an opportunity to turn itself around and perhaps even make sustainable and guaranteed healthy flooring a part of its emerging new brand. Whether that’s possible is unclear, but there’s still a window to achieve it.

It’s not clear by any means that the company aims to do that. Its statements regarding Knowles’ appointment were by the book. And the CDC announcement—three weeks after its first assessment of health risk—doesn’t help.

So, the effort to come back from this debacle will continue to be costly, and we may yet see more consumers and investors continue to reject Lumber Liquidators. But if the retailer makes a point of producing and selling flooring that is beyond above board, a comeback may eventually be possible.