Lumber Liquidators opens Fargo location

Lumber Liquidators, a Virginia-based hardwood flooring retailer, has opened a store in Fargo at 3453 7th Ave. N.

The 6,000-square-foot complex with a 1,100-square-foot showroom is the first Lumber Liquidators store to open in North Dakota, said David Vicha, store manager.

The store carries a wide inventory of hardwood, laminate, bamboo, engineered and cork flooring, adhesives, cleaners, installation kits and other supplies, said Vicha, who has 16 years of experience in the lumber business.

“We’re a two-man show,” said Assistant Manager Dan Fedderson, who has 13 years of experience in lumber retailing.

The Fargo store, which opened in February, is the company’s 195th store, Vicha said.

“About half of what we’ve done so far has been Internet orders,” Vicha said. “You can order online and have it shipped to our store free.”

Walk-in traffic has come from the Grand Forks area, Minnesota lakes country and Canada, Fedderson said.

“About half of the people who buy the flooring install it themselves,” he said. “We do have contractors that are licensed through us to put it in.”

Regionally, Lumber Liquidators has stores in Blaine, Chanhassen and Rochester, Minn., and Sioux Falls, S.D.

Lumber Liquidators was launched in Stoughton, Mass., in 1993 by Tom Sullivan, a building contractor who bought and sold excess lumber other companies didn’t need.

In recent years, it has gained exposure on television shows including “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and “This Old House.”

The company headquarters is in Toano, Va., and it has more than 900 employees in 46 states. The company posted $544.6 million in sales in 2009, according to online business data provider Hoover’s.

Local store hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Tags: daily updates, lumber liquidators, fargo, lumber, lumberyard