New Tile Shop CEO began in the company's warehouse

Tile Shop Holdings Inc. announced Thursday that Cabell "Cabby" Lolmaugh will be its next president and chief executive, turning to a man who worked his way up from the warehouse to the C-suite during a 17-year career.

Lolmaugh, 40, who currently is the company's chief operating officer, in January will join the board of directors and take over for interim CEO and company founder Robert Rucker.

Rucker will remain on the board and serve as Lolmaugh's "mentor consultant," according to a company announcement.

With its headquarters in Plymouth, the Tile Shop currently operates 140 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia.

Lolmaugh takes the helm of the $344 million retailer of natural stone and man-made tiles during a spotty turnaround as the company works toward profitability in a booming housing market.

Tile Shop reported same-store sales growth of 2.1 percent in the third quarter to $89.2 million compared with a year ago.

The company outpaced analysts' estimates with $2.55 million in earnings, or 5 cents per diluted share, up from $2.43 million a year ago.

Lolmaugh served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps and took a job at Tile Shop's Roseville warehouse in 2001.

Over the next decade, Lolmaugh worked his way up and became the store manager in Roseville and Chicago.

In 2014, he was selected to develop a strategy to improve service for Tile Shop's professional customers, such as interior designers, custom builders and remodelers, general contractors and tile installers.

Lolmaugh also led a national effort to train the sales force.

In 2017, he became vice president and oversaw a region that included about half of the company's stores. He has been senior vice president and COO since February. Lolmaugh was not immediately available for an interview.

"Cabby has been instrumental in getting our company back to the Tile Shop way of doing business," said Rucker, who started the company in 1985. Rucker took back the reins in November 2017 after parting ways with CEO Chris Homeister, a former Best Buy executive. At the time, Rucker said that Tile Shop needed new leadership to "take the company forward."

"We are thrilled with Cabby's performance over his career with us, in particular this year as we evaluated him to become the CEO," board Chairman Peter Kamin said in a statement. "We look forward to a very exciting future with Cabby leading the company."

Jackie Crosby • 612-673-7335 Twitter: @JackieCrosby