LIFETIME BRANDS, INC

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No.)

Filed by the Registrant ☒

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant ☐

Check the appropriate box:

☐ Preliminary Proxy Statement

☐

Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

☒ Definitive Proxy Statement

☐ Definitive Additional Materials

☐ Soliciting Material under §240.14a-12

LIFETIME BRANDS, INC.

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check all boxes that apply):

☒ No fee required

☐ Fee paid previously with preliminary materials

☐ Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dear Fellow Stockholder:

I invite you to participate in our Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time, which will be virtual only and conducted via live webcast at meetnow.global/MSMSCDF. Information on how to participate in the Annual Meeting can be found on page 9 of the Proxy Statement.

At the Annual Meeting, you will be asked to: (i) elect a board of nine directors; (ii) ratify the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm; (iii) approve the 2025 compensation of the Lifetime Brands, Inc.’s (the “Company”) named executive officers; and (iv) approve an amendment and restatement of the Company’s Amended and Restated 2000 Long-Term Incentive Plan.

We are taking advantage of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules that allow companies to provide their stockholders with access to proxy materials over the Internet. On or about April 24, 2026, we will release a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice”) to our stockholders informing them that our Proxy Statement, Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (the “2025 Annual Report”) and voting instructions for the Annual Meeting are available online. As more fully described in that Notice, all stockholders may choose to access our proxy materials on the Internet or may request to receive paper copies of the proxy materials. This allows us to conserve natural resources and reduces the costs of printing and distributing the proxy materials, while providing our stockholders with access to the proxy materials in a fast and efficient manner. You can also visit our website, www.lifetimebrands.com, where you will find this Proxy Statement and our 2025 Annual Report, free of charge.

On behalf of our directors and our management team, I thank you for your continued support of Lifetime Brands.

Best regards,

/s/ Jeffrey Siegel

Jeffrey Siegel

Chairman of the Board of Directors

April 24, 2026

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Stockholder Meeting to Be Held on June 18, 2026: On or about April 24, 2026, we will release the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials to our stockholders informing them that this Proxy Statement, the 2025 Annual Report and voting instructions for the Annual Meeting can be accessed over the Internet at www.envisionreports.com/LCUT. You may access these proxy materials over the Internet, or you may request that a printed copy of the materials be sent to you. If you want to receive a paper ore-mail copy of these proxy materials, you must request a copy over the Internet at www.envisionreports.com/LCUT, by calling toll free at 1-866-641-4276, or by sending ane-mail to investorvote@computershare.com with “Proxy Materials Lifetime Brands, Inc.” in the subject line. There is no charge to you for requesting a copy.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

June 18, 2026, 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time

1000 Stewart Avenue, Garden City, New York 11530

Notice is hereby given that the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Lifetime Brands, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), will be held online via live webcast at meetnow.global/MSMSCDF on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time (the “Annual Meeting”), for the following purposes:

In addition to the foregoing, the Annual Meeting will include the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting, or any adjournment(s), continuation(s), rescheduling(s) or postponement(s) thereof.

Stockholders of record at the close of business on April 21, 2026 (the “Record Date”) are entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting and any adjournment(s), continuation(s), rescheduling(s) or postponement(s) thereof. A complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting may be accessed electronically, upon request, starting ten (10) days prior to the Annual Meeting by contacting our Corporate Secretary via email at sara.shindel@lifetimebrands.com.

The Annual Meeting will be held online only via live webcast and there will be no physical location for stockholders to attend the Annual Meeting. Stockholders will be able to vote electronically and submit questions prior to the Annual Meeting by logging in at meetnow.global/MSMSCDF and entering their 15-digit control number or may vote and ask questions during the Annual Meeting by logging in and entering the required information at the meeting date and time. Guests may log in to the website and virtually attend the Annual Meeting, but only stockholders who have 15-digit control numbers will be able to vote and ask questions.

By Order of the Board of Directors,

/s/ Sara Shindel

Sara Shindel

Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Garden City, New York

April 24, 2026

Forward-Looking Statements

The Company cautions that any forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) contained in this Proxy Statement involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various important factors, many of which may be beyond the Company’s control. Words such as “approximate,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “goal,” “should,” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. The following factors, in addition to those disclosed in “ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS” of our 2025 Annual Report and in our other filings made with the SEC could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any of the forward-looking statements included in this Proxy Statement: the imposition of duties and tariffs and other trade barriers and retaliatory countermeasures implemented by the U.S. and other governments, as well as continued uncertainties with respect to tariffs and trade policies; social unrest, including related protests and disturbances; the emergence, continuation and consequences of geopolitical conflicts including: ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, macro-economic challenges, including labor disputes, inflationary impacts and disruptions to the global supply chain; failure to protect our reputation; and our ability to attract or retain talent. There can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this Proxy Statement will prove to be accurate, and new risks may emerge from time to time. Except as may be required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise our forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied therein will not be realized.

Incorporation by Reference

Neither the Report of the Compensation Committee on Executive Compensation nor the Report of the Audit Committee included herein shall be deemed soliciting material or filed with the SEC and neither of them shall be deemed incorporated by reference into any prior or future filings made by us under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), except to the extent that we specifically incorporate such information by reference.

In addition, this document includes several website addresses. These website addresses are intended to provide inactive, textual references only. The information on these websites is not part of this Proxy Statement.