Sales of Whirlpool products in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) have dropped more than 6% from $1.4 billion (£1.06bn) than those over the same period in 2017.

Whirlpool which sells Hotpoint, Indesit and KitchenAid products in the UK, said the region put a $15 million hole in its accounts in the quarter.

Whilst Whirlpool blamed poor EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) earnings on raw materials cost inflation and increased currency volatility, the company gave no reason for the sales decline.

Despite the company giving no reason for its sales decline European consumers will be all too aware of the well publicised events of the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people, began in a Hotpoint fridge-freezer.

European consumers will also be all too aware of the well publicised events that Whirlpool rejected the conclusions of expert witnesses that the Grenfell Tower fire began in a Hotpoint fridge-freezer.

European consumers will also be all too aware of the well publicised events that consumer group Which? and MPs have routinely attacked the way the “ignorant and arrogant” manufacturer [Whirlpool] has dealt with millions of potentially dangerous appliances since a safety alert was first issued in November 2015.

If it isn’t enough that the scale of the Whirlpool (#whirlpool-hotpoint-creda-indesit-fire) scandal is of such a proportion that millions of homes are at risk of fire, injury and death as a direct result, the actions of Whirlpool were widely considered to be nothing short of a modern day Ford Pinto scandal, were corporate greed is put before consumer safety.

Just when you think ‘surely Whirlpool will act now?’ they obstruct, deny and delay further, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

But no that cant have anything to do with a decline in sales?