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 third parties and its own internet websites.

On March 2, 2018, the Company expanded its portfolio of products and brands through the acquisition of Taylor Holdco LLC and its subsidiaries (doing business as Filament Brands) (“Filament”). Filament primarily designs, markets, and distributes consumer and food service precision measurement products, including kitchen scales, thermometers and timers, bath scales, wine accessories, kitchen tools, hydration products, and select outdoor products. The six months ended June 30, 2018 includes the operations of Filament for the period from March 2, 2018 to June 30, 2018. See Note C– Acquisition to the condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for additional information.

Basis of presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) 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. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all estimates and adjustments, which consist only of normal recurring accruals, considered necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position 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, 2017.

Operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2018.

The Company’s business and working capital needs are highly seasonal, with a majority of sales occurring in the third and fourth quarters. In 2017 and 2016, net sales for the third and fourth quarters accounted for 60% and 61% 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 at the point in time the customer obtains control of the products, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those products.

The Company offers various sales incentives and promotional programs to its customers 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 returns are reflected as reductions of revenue at the time of sale. See Note B – Revenue to the condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for additional information.

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.

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. 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.

Receivable purchase agreement

The Company has an uncommitted Receivables Purchase Agreement with HSBC Bank USA, National Association (“HSBC”), as Purchaser (the “Receivables Purchase Agreement”). The sale of accounts receivable, under the Company’s Receivable Purchase Agreement with HSBC, are reflected as a reduction of accounts receivable in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet at the time of sale and any related expense is included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations. Pursuant to this agreement, the Company sold to HSBC $19.1 million and $38.7 million of receivables during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, and $17.6 million and $39.2 million of receivables during the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively. Charges of $99,000 and $189,000 related to the sale of the receivables are included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively. Charges of $63,000 and $130,000 related to the sale of the receivables are included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively.

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 net realizable value. 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. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predicable cost of completion, disposal and transportation.

The components of inventory are as follows:


	June 30,		December 31,
	2018		2017
	(in thousands)
Finished goods	$	188,813	$	125,355
Work in process		93		86
Raw materials		8,973		6,995

Total	$	197,879	$	132,436

Fair value of financial instruments

The Company determined that 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, based on a recognized index rate.

Derivatives

The Company accounts for derivative instruments in accordance with Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC”) Topic No. 815, Derivatives and Hedging, (“ASC Topic No. 815”). 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 until the hedged item is recognized in earnings. The change in the fair value of hedges are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and is subsequently recognized in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations to mirror the location of the hedged items impacting earnings.

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. If, after assessing qualitative factors, the Company determines that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then performing the two-step impairment test is unnecessary and the Company’s goodwill is considered to be unimpaired. However, if based on the Company’s qualitative assessment it concludes that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, or if the Company elects to bypass the qualitative assessment, the Company will proceed with performing the two-step process. The first step in the two-step process compares the carrying value of each reporting unit that has goodwill with the estimated fair value of the respective reporting unit. Should the carrying value of a reporting unit be in excess of the estimated fair value of that reporting unit, the second step must be performed. The second step represents a hypothetical purchase price allocation as if the Company had acquired the reporting unit on that date. The Company also evaluates qualitative factors to determine whether or not its indefinite lived intangibles have been impaired and then performs quantitative tests if required. These tests can include the relief from royalty model or other valuation models.

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 connection with the Company’s March 2018 acquisition of Filament, the Company commenced a restructuring plan to integrate the operations of Filament with the Company’s operations and realize the savings expected from the synergies of the acquisition. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 the Company incurred $0.4 million and $0.8 million, respectively, of severance restructuring charges. At June 30, 2018, $0.4 million of restructuring changes were accrued.

In 2016, to reduce costs and achieve synergies, the Company began the process of integrating its legal entities operating in Europe. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, the Company recorded $254,000, of restructuring expense related to the execution of this plan, primarily related to severance.

Adoption of new accounting pronouncements

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2017-01, Clarifying the Definition of a Business. This standard assists with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. This standard will be applied prospectively to acquisitions and has not had an impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The standard supersedes existing revenue recognition guidance and replaces it with a five step revenue model with a core principle that an entity recognizes revenue to reflect the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. The Company adopted the new guidance under the modified retrospective approach. The adoption of this guidance did not have a significant impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. The adoption resulted in the recognition of right of a return asset related to certain product returns by increasing the returns liability; this gross up had no corresponding impact on the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities, which expands and refines hedge accounting for both non-financial and financial risk components and aligns the recognition and presentation of the effects of the hedging instrument and the hedged item in the financial statements. The guidance also makes certain improvements to simplify the application of hedge accounting guidance and ease the administrative burden of hedge documentation requirements and assessing hedge effectiveness. The Company applied the new guidance to existing cash flow hedge relationships using a modified retrospective approach. No adjustment was recorded to opening retained earnings on the date of adoption, as there was no ineffectiveness previously recorded in retained earnings that would have been included in other comprehensive income if the new guidance had been applied since hedge inception. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Accounting pronouncements to be adopted in future periods

Updates not listed below were assessed and either determined to not be applicable or are expected to have a minimal effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, and disclosures.

In February 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2018-02, Income Statement- Reporting Comprehensive Income: Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which addresses the effect on items within accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) of the change in the U.S. federal corporate tax rate due to the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) on December 22, 2017. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the effect of adopting this pronouncement.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, to simplify the subsequent measurement of goodwill by eliminating the second step of the goodwill impairment test. Under this standard, an entity should perform its annual or interim goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. An entity should recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value. The loss recognized should not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. This guidance is effective for interim and annual goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. The Company is evaluating the effect of adopting this pronouncement.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which reduces the diversity in practice on how certain transactions are classified in the statement of cash flows. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the effect of adopting this pronouncement.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which requires a lessee, in most leases, to initially recognize a lease liability for the obligation to make lease payments and a right-of-use asset for the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within with those years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is in the process of evaluating the effect the guidance will have on its existing accounting policies and its consolidated financial statements, but expects there will be an increase in assets and liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets at adoption due to the recording of the right-of-use assets and corresponding lease liabilities, which the Company estimates be material.