Attendees at last week's International Home

Attendees at last week's International Home + Housewares Show may have noticed a couple new brands in the sprawling Lifetime Brands' booth: La Cafetière and Built NY.Earlier this month, Lifetime Brands Inc. purchased coffee and teaware pany La Cafetière from The Greenfield Group Limited. La Cafetière's coffee accessories and teaware are marketed worldwide under the La Cafetière and Randwyck brands.The deal "strengthens our presence in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe and, together with the recent acquisition of Kitchen Craft, confirms Lifetime's position as a global leader in the kitchenware and tableware categories," said Jeffrey Siegel, Lifetime's chairman and CEO.

In other news, the pany recently acquired Built NY, which is known for its colorful neoprene storage bags and laptop sleeves. The popular brand is distributed in more than 30,000 retail stores in 60 countries."Lifetime's mitment to design, quality and innovation makes it the perfect partner for Built," said John Roscoe Swartz, a founder of Built, who joined Lifetime as president of Lifetime's newly-created Built division. "We look forward to continuing to deliver to our customers Built's unique bination of design, quality and innovation for the gourmet life."Sunbury residents need to be vigilant and keep property and belongings secure.

The warning by Hume crime prevention officer Jacqui Newman es after a spike in "opportunistic" crime.She said theft from cars had risen in the past fortnight and was "extremely disappointing" as many victims admitted to leaving their cars unlocked."Local residents need to realise that leaving cars and homes unlocked in Sunbury is no longer acceptable," she said."It is frustrating for police when the crime rate increases in the area and our messages to help deter crime are ignored."Police are also reporting an increase in burglaries at display homes and premises under construction. The targets are kitchenware and building supplies. Police are investigating leads including a suspicious vehicle and male suspects. Senior Constable Newman said that with the cost of petrol increasing, theft of number plates was also on the rise in Hume."We need residents to help us reduce the crime rate.