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EQUITY INVESTMENTS
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract]  
EQUITY INVESTMENTS EQUITY INVESTMENTS
The Company owns approximately 30% of the outstanding capital stock of Vasconia, an integrated manufacturer of aluminum products and one of Mexico’s largest housewares companies. Shares of Vasconia’s capital stock are traded on the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, the Mexican Stock Exchange. The Quotation Key is VASCONI. The Company accounts for its investment in Vasconia using the equity method of accounting and records its proportionate share of Vasconia’s net income in the Company’s statement of operations. Accordingly, the Company has recorded its proportionate share of Vasconia’s net income (reduced for amortization expense related to the customer relationships acquired) for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
The value of the Company’s investment balance has been translated from Mexican pesos (“MXN”) to U.S. dollars (“USD”) using the spot rate of MXN 19.88 and MXN 18.91 at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
The Company's proportionate share of Vasconia's net income (loss) has been translated from MXN to USD using the following exchange rates:
Year Ended December 31,
202020192018
Average exchange rate (MXN to USD)
19.91 - 23.31
19.11 - 19.42
18.71 - 19.81
The effect of the translation of the Company’s investment, as well as the translation of Vasconia’s balance sheet, resulted in a decrease of the investment of $2.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2020 and a decrease of the investment of $1.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2019. These translation effects are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss. The Company received cash dividends of $52,000, $124,000 and $115,000, from Vasconia during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The amounts due to and due from Vasconia as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 are as follows (in thousands):
Vasconia due to and due from balancesBalance Sheet LocationDecember 31, 2020December 31, 2019
Amounts due from VasconiaPrepaid expenses and other current assets$55 $63 
Amounts due to VasconiaAccrued expenses and Accounts payable$(91)(77)
Summarized income statement information for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, as well as summarized balance sheet information as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, for Vasconia, calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP, in USD and MXN is as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
202020192018
(in thousands)
USDMXNUSDMXNUSDMXN
Income Statement
Net sales$156,391 $3,330,855 $159,746 $3,074,398 $179,547 $3,456,852 
Gross profit24,947 540,244 34,032 654,342 36,891 711,941 
(Loss) income from operations
(102)6,674 8,620 165,287 11,402 222,115 
Net income5,566 108,678 1,757 28,892 2,887 57,590 

December 31,
20202019
(in thousands)
USDMXNUSDMXN
Balance Sheet
Current assets$94,820 $1,885,323 $94,263 $1,782,170 
Non-current assets$100,140 $1,991,116 110,908 2,096,880 
Current liabilities$69,241 $1,376,742 74,095 1,400,883 
Non-current liabilities$48,419 $962,723 50,037 946,014 
The Company recorded equity in earnings of Vasconia, net of taxes, of $1.5 million, $0.5 million and $0.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Equity in earnings in 2018 includes deferred tax benefit of $0.1 million due to a change in the tax basis of the investment as a result of the Tax Act.
As of December 31, 2020, the fair value (based on Level 1 inputs using the quoted stock price) of the Company’s investment in Vasconia was $32.8 million. The carrying value of the Company’s investment in Vasconia was $20.0 million.
Lifetime Brands Do Brasil Participacoes Ltda., a 100% owned subsidiary of Lifetime Brands, Inc., was dissolved on May 5, 2020. The subsidiary held a note receivable relating to the 2016 sale of its 40% equity interest in GS International S/A (“GSI”), a wholesale distributor of branded housewares products in Brazil, which was accounted for as an equity method investment. The final installment due on the note receivable was received prior to dissolution of the subsidiary. Foreign currency translation losses of $0.2 million, which were previously recorded as a component of stockholder’s equity within accumulated other comprehensive loss, were recognized in earnings upon dissolution of this subsidiary during the year ended December 31, 2020. The Company included this loss within equity in earnings (losses), net of taxes.
In February 2012, the Company entered into a joint venture, Grand Venture Holdings Limited (“Grand Venture”), with Manweal Development Limited (“Manweal”), a Chinese corporation, to distribute Mikasa® products in China, which included an initial investment by the Company of $0.5 million. The Company and Manweal each own 50% of Grand Venture and have rights and obligations proportionate to their ownership percentages. The Company accounts for its investment in Grand Venture using the equity method of accounting and has recorded its proportionate share of Grand Venture’s net loss as equity in earnings (losses) in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. Due to the operating losses the Company evaluated the carrying value of its investment for other-than temporary impairment under the equity method of accounting and recorded an impairment charge of approximately $0.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2018. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company had a carrying value of zero in Grand Venture.