The investor who originally accused Lumber Liquidators of selling Chinese-made laminate floors with excessive formaldehyde recently said the same about Lowe’s Tecsun flooring, causing the retailer to pull the product off its online store, according to Bloomberg.
Xuhua Zhou wrote on financial website Seeking Alpha that “Lumber Liquidators may not have been the lone violator when it comes to laminate floor sourcing” and “Lowe’s… has been selling similar questionable products as recent as late March.”
Zhou has been credited by media organizations as one of the original critics of Lumber Liquidators after he wrote a post on the website Seeking Alpha. Lawsuits and eventually a “60 Minutes” exposé followed, resulting in a federal investigation and the company’s stock losing more than half its value.
Zhou’s new post said he had Lowe’s Tecsun laminate flooring product tested at Benchmark International, one of the labs used by “60 Minutes,” and found levels of formaldehyde similar to what “60 Minutes” found with Lumber Liquidators’ product.
He did not specify which method of testing for formaldehyde was used. The testing method used by “60 Minutes” has been the subject of much scrutiny and debate.
Lowe’s pulled the Tecsun flooring from its online store immediately after the allegations became public, according to Bloomberg, and the company plans to source all of its laminate products from the U.S. starting in January.
“While we are confident that our products are safe, we are responding to our customers’ concerns about Chinese laminate flooring,” Lowe’s spokesperson Connie Bryant told Bloomberg.
