Boca Raton, Fla. — Q.E.P., manufacturer and distributor of a broad range of installation solutions, announced it has completed the sale of certain assets of its Harris Flooring Group division to Marquis Industries. The transaction—which includes the Naturally Aged Flooring, Harris, Kraus and Heritage Mill brands in North America, as well as related inventory and associated domain names and websites—is valued at approximately $10 million.
”We believe Marquis Industries is the proper steward going forward for the Harris Flooring Group,” said Len Gould, president and CEO of Q.E.P., Americas. “Q.E.P. will continue to focus on what we do best—our core business of flooring tools, adhesives and underlayment. This divestiture will enable us to add more time, focus and scale to our growth plan and speed to our innovation roadmap.”
As Q.E.P is currently in the process of selling the remaining assets of the Harris Flooring Group, Gould said it cannot—at this time—make a good faith determination of cost estimates, or ranges of cost estimates, associated with the sale of all Harris Flooring Group assets. If required, Q.E.P. said it will provide said information at such time as its management is able, in good faith, to estimate the amount/range of amounts of these costs.
As part of the deal, Marquis Industries said it has also extended offers of employment to substantially all Harris Flooring Group employees. Earlier this year, Q.E.P. announced plans to lay off dozens of workers at the Harris Wood plant in Johnson City, Tenn. (FCNews, June 19/26). Approximately 90 employees were affected.
Q.E.P. reported net sales of $433.7 million for the fiscal year ended Feb. 28, 2023, a decrease of $11.9 million, or 2.7%, from the $445.6 million reported in the prior-year period. The company said the decrease in net sales reflected lower sales volume in the latter half of the year, principally in the company’s North America flooring business. Q.E.P. bought the former Harris flooring company, which operated in Johnson City since the late 1800s, in 2010.