New York—After nearly 15 years in business, Lumber Liquidators, the 111-store, factory-direct, hardwood-only retailer targeting both contractors and homeowners, has gone public.

In November, the company had its initial public offering led by its chairman, Tom Sullivan. Starting out in the Boston area in 1993 and specializing in the city’s remodeling market, Liquidators now has stores in 42 states.

The stores are approximately 6,400 square feet each, and the company’s initial growth, which began in several major Northeastern markets, has expanded to suburbia and smaller cities nationwide. Liquidators projects growth of 30 to 40 stores per year through 2011.

According to a company official, Liquidators now has an approximate 6% market share in hardwood flooring. The company expects to gain market share percentage in the mid-teens as it grows to roughly 300 stores in the next few years.

According to the company’s S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in 2006 Lumber Liquidators took in sales of $332 million, up 35% from sales of $245 million in 2005.

For the first nine months of 2007, company sales were $299.8 million, up 21% from $247.2 million in the first nine months of 2006.

The official noted Liquidators is well positioned to deal with some of the issues associated with the housing construction downturn. The retailer’s primary customer base is existing homeowners, he said, and floors for new home construction make up a much smaller percentage of the company’s sales.