BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY ACCOUNTING POLICIES | NOTE A — BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY ACCOUNTING POLICIES Organization and business Lifetime Brands, Inc. (the “Company”) designs, sources and sells branded kitchenware, tableware and other products used in the home and markets its products under a number of brand names and trademarks, which are either owned or licensed by the Company, or through retailers’ private labels. The Company markets and sells its products principally on a wholesale basis to retailers. The Company also markets and sells a limited selection of its products directly to consumers through its Pfaltzgraff, Mikasa, Fred and Friends, Built NY, Lifetime Sterling and The English Table internet websites. Basis of presentation The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, which consist only of normal recurring accruals, considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015. Operating results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2016. The Company’s business and working capital needs are highly seasonal, with a majority of sales occurring in the third and fourth quarters. In 2015 and 2014, net sales for the third and fourth quarters accounted for 59% and 60% of total annual net sales, respectively. In anticipation of the pre-holiday shipping season, inventory levels increase primarily in the June through October time period. Revenue recognition The Company sells products wholesale, to retailers and distributors, and retail, directly to the consumer. Wholesale sales and retail sales are recognized when title passes to the customer, which is primarily at the shipping point for wholesale sales and upon delivery to the customer for retail sales. Shipping and handling fees that are billed primarily to retail customers in sales transactions are included in net sales and amounted to $302,000 and $313,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and $1.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and the nine months ended September 30, 2015. Net sales exclude taxes that are collected from customers and remitted to the taxing authorities. The Company offers various sales incentives and promotional programs to its wholesale customers from time to time in the normal course of business. These incentives and promotions typically include arrangements such as cooperative advertising, buydowns, volume rebates and discounts. These arrangements and an estimate of sales returns are reflected as reductions in net sales in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations. Cost of sales Cost of sales consists primarily of costs associated with the production and procurement of product, inbound freight costs, purchasing costs, royalties and other product procurement related charges. Distribution expenses Distribution expenses consist primarily of warehousing expenses and freight-out expenses. In September 2016, the Company identified and corrected an error in the accumulated depreciation balance relating to certain leasehold improvements at one of its U.S. warehouses. Accordingly, distribution expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 includes $1.3 million of additional depreciation expense to properly reflect the accumulated depreciation balance of these assets as of September 30, 2016. Accounts Receivable The Company periodically reviews the collectability of its accounts receivable and establishes allowances for estimated losses that could result from the inability of its customers to make required payments. A considerable amount of judgment is required to assess the ultimate realization of these receivables including assessing the initial and on-going creditworthiness of the Company’s customers. The Company also maintains an allowance for anticipated customer deductions. The allowances for deductions are primarily based on contracts with customers. However, in certain cases the Company does not have a formal contract and, therefore, customer deductions are non-contractual. To evaluate the reasonableness of non-contractual customer deductions, the Company analyzes currently available information and historical trends of deductions. In order to reduce accounts receivable balances and improve cash flows, on September 30, 2016 the Company entered into an uncommitted Receivables Purchase Agreement among the Company and HSBC Bank USA, National Association (“HSBC”), as Purchaser (the “Receivables Purchase Agreement”). Under the Receivables Purchase Agreement, the Company may offer to sell certain eligible accounts receivable (the “Receivables”) to HSBC, which may accept such offer, and purchase the offered Receivables. Under the Receivables Purchase Agreement, following each purchase of Receivables, the outstanding aggregate purchased Receivables shall not exceed $25.0 million. HSBC will assume the credit risk of the Receivables sold and the Company will be responsible for all non-credit risk matters. The Company will service the Receivables, and as such servicer, collect and otherwise enforce the Receivables on behalf of HSBC. The term of the agreement is for 364 days and shall automatically be extended for annual successive terms unless terminated. Either party may terminate the agreement at any time upon sixty days’ prior written notice to the other party. The Company did not sell any Receivables pursuant to this agreement during the nine months ended September 30, 2016. Subsequent to September 30, 2016, the Company sold $16.1 million of Receivables pursuant to this agreement. Inventory Inventory consists principally of finished goods sourced from third-party suppliers. Inventory also includes finished goods, work in process and raw materials related to the Company’s manufacture of sterling silver products. Inventory is priced using the lower of cost (first-in, first-out basis) or market method. The Company estimates the selling price of its inventory on a product by product basis based on the current selling environment. If the estimated selling price is lower than the inventory’s cost, the Company reduces the value of the inventory to its net realizable value. The components of inventory are as follows: September 30, December 31, 2016 2015 (in thousands) Finished goods $ 168,908 $ 133,618 Work in process 1,547 1,754 Raw materials 882 1,518 Total $ 171,337 $ 136,890 Fair value of financial instruments The Company determined the carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable and accounts payable are reasonable estimates of their fair values because of their short-term nature. The Company determined that the carrying amounts of borrowings outstanding under its revolving credit facility, term loan and short term loan approximate fair value since such borrowings bear interest at variable market rates. Derivatives The Company accounts for derivative instruments in accordance with Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC”) Topic No. 815, Derivatives and Hedging. ASC Topic No. 815 requires that all derivative instruments be recognized on the balance sheet at fair value as either an asset or liability. Changes in the fair value of derivatives that qualify as hedges and have been designated as part of a hedging relationship for accounting purposes have no net impact on earnings to the extent the derivative is considered highly effective in achieving offsetting changes in fair value or cash flows attributable to the risk being hedged, until the hedged item is recognized in earnings. If a derivative which is designated as part of a hedging relationship is considered ineffective in achieving offsetting changes in fair value or cash flows attributable to the risk being hedged, the changes in fair value are recorded in operations. For derivatives that do not qualify or are not designated as hedging instruments for accounting purposes, changes in fair value are recorded in operations. Goodwill, intangible assets and long-lived assets Goodwill and intangible assets deemed to have indefinite lives are not amortized but, instead, are subject to an annual impairment assessment. Additionally, if events or conditions were to indicate the carrying value of a reporting unit may not be recoverable, the Company would evaluate goodwill and other intangible assets for impairment at that time. As it relates to the goodwill assessment, the Company first assesses qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment testing described in ASU Topic No. 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other Long-lived assets, including intangible assets deemed to have finite lives, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Impairment indicators include, among other conditions, cash flow deficits, historic or anticipated declines in revenue or operating profit or material adverse changes in the business climate that indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may be impaired. When impairment indicators are present, the recoverability of the asset is measured by comparing the carrying value of the asset to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If the asset is considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset. Employee healthcare The Company self-insures certain portions of its health insurance plans. The Company maintains an accrual for unpaid claims and estimated claims incurred but not yet reported (“IBNR”). Although management believes that it uses the best information available to estimate claims IBNR, actual claims may vary significantly from estimated claims. Restructuring Expenses Costs associated with restructuring activities are recorded at fair value when a liability has been incurred. A liability has been incurred at the point of closure for any remaining operating lease obligations and at the communication date for severance. In December 2015, the Company commenced an in-depth review of its U.S. Wholesale business segment, which included the evaluation of the segment’s efficiency and effectiveness, with the objective of developing a plan to restructure its operations as appropriate. The Company expanded this restructuring plan in the first quarter of 2016 to focus on specific actions required to achieve the plan’s objectives. During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Company recorded $1.7 million of restructuring expense related to the execution of this plan. At September 30, 2016, $29,000 was accrued related to severance expense from the restructuring plan. The Company expects the remaining severance will be paid in the fourth quarter of 2016. The Company expects to incur $606,000 of additional U.S. Wholesale restructuring charges, related to severance and consulting, in the fourth quarter of 2016. Adoption of New Accounting Pronouncements Effective January 1, 2016, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2015-03, Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs Presentation and Subsequent Measurement of Debt Issuance Costs Associated with Line-of-Credit Arrangements. Effective January 1, 2016, the Company adopted ASU 2015-05, Customer’s Accounting for Fees Paid in a Cloud Computing Arrangement Effective January 1, 2016, the Company adopted ASU 2015-16, Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement-Period Adjustments Accounting Pronouncements to be Adopted in Future Periods In August 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows: Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases, In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-11, Inventory: Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers |