Christopher Nichols
LIVE VENTURESAbout Christopher Nichols
Christopher Nichols, 55, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Flooring Liquidators (a Live Ventures subsidiary) effective March 3, 2025. He brings 35+ years of retail operating experience, including turnaround consulting (~3 years pre-joining FL) and 12 years at Fallas Stores culminating as COO; prior roles at Sears, Gap Inc., and TJX Companies. Education: studied Computer Science and Administration of Justice at Santa Rosa Junior College. Within his initial tenure period, Retail-Flooring segment revenue declined year over year and Adjusted EBITDA was negative for the nine months ended June 30, 2025, reflecting demand softness and the disposition of certain stores; the segment implemented cost reductions in fiscal Q2 2025 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flooring Liquidators (Live Ventures subsidiary) | President & CEO | Appointed Mar 3, 2025 | Leads retail flooring sales/installation operations; overseeing cost reduction initiatives in 2025 |
| Fallas Stores | EVP Store Ops; most recently COO | 12 years ending in 2022 | Drove performance, innovation, operational excellence; large-scale team development |
| Consulting (private/public cos.) | Turnaround & strategic growth consultant | ~3 years prior to Mar 2025 | Turnarounds and strategic growth planning |
| Sears; Gap Inc.; TJX Companies | Various senior roles | Not disclosed | Operational strategy, organizational transformation; measurable results |
External Roles
No public-company board or committee roles disclosed for Nichols in the proxy’s executive officers section .
Fixed Compensation
- Nichols is not a named executive officer (NEO) at the holding company level; detailed cash compensation (base salary, target/actual bonus) for subsidiary CEOs is determined under a process where the Compensation Committee may delegate subsidiary CEO compensation decisions to the Company’s President & CEO. Specific terms for Nichols were not disclosed in the 2025 proxy .
Performance Compensation
No direct disclosure of Nichols’ incentive metrics, weightings, or payouts. However, current Flooring Liquidators executive arrangements indicate EBITDA-centric incentives for the founder (context for incentive design at FL):
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting/Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EBITDA (Flooring Liquidators) | Not disclosed | ≥$10M in any three fiscal years FY2025–FY2030 | Not disclosed | $5M cash bonus (founder) | Subject to continued employment; terms per Memorandum of Understanding and amendment |
Note: The table above describes Kellogg’s bonus framework at FL, not Nichols’ plan; it suggests EBITDA-centric incentives in the subsidiary environment .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (as of event date 02/21/2025) | 0 shares; Form 3 states “No securities are beneficially owned.” |
| Ownership as % of outstanding | 0.00% (0 of 3,076,802 shares outstanding on 05/09/2025) |
| Options/RSUs | None disclosed for Nichols |
| Hedging policy | Company prohibits hedging transactions designed to offset declines in Company securities granted/awarded to insiders |
| Pledging | No pledging disclosure specific to Nichols; no pledging policy disclosed in cited sections |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Appointment | President & CEO, Flooring Liquidators, effective March 3, 2025 |
| Section 16 Power of Attorney | Executed Feb 28, 2025, appointing Wayne Ipsen to file Forms 3,4,5 on Nichols’ behalf |
| Form 3 (initial beneficial ownership) | Filed March 11, 2025; late vs. due date March 3, 2025; shows Officer title “CEO – Flooring Liquidators”; no securities owned |
| Subsidiary employer role | Signs FL employment agreements (e.g., Stephen J. Kellogg agreement) as CEO |
| Contact details (subsidiary) | Flooring Liquidators address and email for Chris Nichols listed in Q2 2025 10-Q |
Performance & Track Record
Segment context during Nichols’ tenure window:
| Metric | Nine months ended Jun 30, 2024 | Nine months ended Jun 30, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Retail-Flooring Revenue ($000) | 103,332 | 89,519 |
| Retail-Flooring Adjusted EBITDA ($000) | (803) | (2,159) |
| Metric | Q3 (three months ended Jun 30, 2024) | Q3 (three months ended Jun 30, 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Retail-Flooring Net Revenue ($000) | 36,981 | 30,373 |
| Retail-Flooring Gross Profit ($000) | 13,525 | 10,768 |
- Commentary: Retail-Flooring revenue declined YoY due to broader demand and disposition of certain Johnson stores; segment implemented targeted cost reduction initiatives in fiscal Q2 2025 .
- Company-level governance and shareholder signals: 2025 say-on-pay passed; frequency vote supports triennial cadence .
Governance & Shareholder Signals (context)
| Proposal | Votes For | Votes Against | Abstentions | Broker Non-Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Say-on-pay (advisory) | 2,320,358 | 27,083 | 49,489 | 272,503 |
- Hedging/insider trading compliance policies apply to executive officers at subsidiaries .
- Majority insider control: ICG + Jon Isaac beneficially own 51.2% of common stock, influencing compensation governance context .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Late Section 16 filing: Nichols’ Form 3 filed March 11, 2025 (due March 3, 2025) .
- Ongoing SEC litigation (company-level) regarding historical disclosure and compensation issues (2016–2018), with summary judgment motions filed Oct 2024; potential governance overhang though not naming Nichols .
- Retail-Flooring segment negative Adjusted EBITDA YTD and revenue declines, implying execution risk amid restructuring and cost actions .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: As of appointment, Nichols held no Live Ventures securities, reducing immediate insider-selling pressure but limiting direct equity-aligned incentives unless future awards are granted . Hedging is prohibited, supporting alignment for any future grants .
- Incentive levers: Subsidiary precedent indicates EBITDA-centric bonus frameworks (e.g., FL founder bonus), suggesting Nichols’ performance focus will likely center on EBITDA turnaround and cost discipline; investors should monitor disclosure of his specific KPIs and award grants in future filings .
- Execution watchpoints: Retail-Flooring revenue and profitability headwinds in 2025, with cost reduction initiatives underway; track YTD and upcoming quarter segment metrics for inflection under Nichols’ leadership .
- Governance overlay: Majority insider control and ongoing SEC case may constrain external pressure on compensation design; strong 2025 say-on-pay support reduces near-term pay risk but offers limited visibility into subsidiary CEO pay structures. Continued monitoring of future proxies/8-Ks for Nichols’ compensation terms (salary, bonus targets, equity, severance/change-of-control) is warranted .