TPR Tapestry Inc

By Patrick Thomas and Nina Trentmann 

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. on Monday named former Pier 1 Imports Inc. finance chief Nancy Walsh as its new chief financial officer.

The flooring retailer said Ms. Walsh will take over the position Sept. 9. Ms. Walsh left troubled home-decor retailer Pier 1 after roughly a year in the role back in April. Before that she served as CFO of The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. and worked in various finance positions with Tapestry Inc.

Lumber Liquidators's interim CFO Timothy Mulvaney will step down and return to his previous job as chief accounting officer, the company said.

Lumber Liquidators' previous CFO, Martin Agard, resigned earlier this year to pursue a new opportunity outside the company, according to a securities filing.

His exit from the company came amid a flurry of top-level executive departures after the company was accused of misleading investors over harmful ingredients in its laminate flooring. In March, the company agreed to pay $33 million in fines. Last year, Lumber Liquidators agreed to pay $36 million to settle class-action lawsuits over the flooring.

Its legal issues prevented the company from being as focused as its competitors on keeping abreast of changes in the retail industry, said Brian Nagel, a managing director at Oppenheimer & Co., an analyst who tracks the company. The hiring of Ms. Walsh, though, will help the company's quest to rebuild consumer trust and to modernize its marketing and advertising efforts, he said.

"Lumber Liquidators has been able to find a CFO that has experience at other public companies," Mr. Nagel said. "That's a good sign."

Ms. Walsh, who wasn't immediately available for additional comment, is entitled to an annual base salary of $500,000 and a $50,000 one-time sign-on bonus, Lumber Liquidators said in a regulatory filing.

She will be eligible to participate in an annual bonus plan and receive an equity award with a value of $750,000 that will be granted after the release of the company's third-quarter earnings, according to the filing.

"The board and I are excited to add someone with Nancy's broad retail and finance experience to the executive team at Lumber Liquidators," said Chief Executive Dennis Knowles, in a statement. "Her wealth of knowledge will assist us as we execute our transformation plan to position the company for long term success."

Write to Patrick Thomas at Patrick.Thomas@wsj.com and Nina Trentmann at Nina.Trentmann@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 19, 2019 18:53 ET (22:53 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.