Kickstart: More signs of rough economic waters ahead

For anyone trying to predict just when — and by how much — consumer spending will really slow down, appliance maker Whirlpool Corp. is cutting its expectations through the rest of 2022.

Discretionary demand "significantly weakened throughout Q3, and frankly we see similar patterns in Q4," CEO Marc Bitzer told Bloomberg Television.

Consumers are still spending money to replace aging or broken appliances, he said, but they're wary of spending on extras. As a result, the Benton Harbor, Mich.-based company is taking "aggressive steps" to manage costs, which it must balance with the reduced demand.

Whirlpool costs haven't significantly declined yet. That includes the price it pays for plastics and steel, Bitzer said in a quarterly call with analysts.

"Spot prices have not come down a whole lot yet, but I emphasize yet," he said, but added that based on hedging contract discussions it does expect to see lower prices soon.

"We do expect raw materials to come down ... throughout the first half [of 2023]," he said. "But I don't think you will see a dramatic change kind of year over year."

The name of the German retailer Schwarz Group may not register as much to North American shoppers, although they may have heard of grocery stores operating under the Lidl name, with about 170 stores opening in the U.S. since 2017.

But make no mistake. It's an international giant, with more than 3,000 Lidl stores in Germany and 11,000 around the world. It also stands out as a retailer that has its own in-house environmental and recycling business to sort and properly deal with all those materials passing through all those stores.

Schwarz launched PreZero Stiftung & Co. KG about five years ago with 100 employees and about $18 million in sales. This year it expects sales of nearly $4 billion. In 2021, it collected and recycled 82,000 metric tons of plastics.

And with Schwarz growing in the U.S., so are its plans for PreZero's recycling operations. Plastics News' Jim Johnson had a chance to sit down with PreZero exeutives at K 2022 for an in-depth discussion of the company's plans and history.

Would sparkling wine be just as good if it isn't poured from a glass bottle?

Italian blow molding specialist Sipa SpA says it can be, and it is marketing the La Spumante bottle as a more sustainable alternative.

"PET has designs on glass and is making progress," Sipa Area Sales Manager Yasar Yildiz said at K 2022. "Now we're looking at other applications where we can expand into PET, and the next steps in the process."

PET wine bottles are growing in popularity in Italy and making inroads in Germany and France, he said.