Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Lifetime Brands, the US designer and distributor of kitchenware and cutlery, is to close all of its retail outlets in the States.
The company put the decision down to the “difficult retail environment”.
Fifty-three shops will shut – 39 Pfaltzgraff factory stores, eight Farberware stores and six clearance stores. The company’s distribution facility in York, Pennsylvania will also be shut down. The Internet and mail order catalogue business will remain in operation.
In a statement, chief executive Jeffrey Siegel said: “Despite the many actions we have taken to streamline and improve the operations of the retail stores, in today’s difficult retail environment they have continued to encumber our company’s earnings.
“In addition to eliminating this burden, today’s actions will enable us to focus our efforts on growing our core wholesale business.”
Lifetime’s main product categories are kitchenware, tabletop, cutlery, cutting boards, bakeware and spices. It went into the retail business about 10 years ago after acquiring the rights to sell Pfaltzgraff ceramic tableware and Farberware’s range of cutlery, knives and kitchen gadgets.
Other brands under the Lifetime umbrella include KitchenAid, Cuisinart and Pedrini.
