“Earplugs” may conjure images of those foam cylinders that protrude from your ears, but longtime friends Maarten Bodewes and Dimitri O set out to change that when they co-founded Loop Earplugs in 2016.

They’d been roommates in their native Belgium and loved seeing live music and car races—you know, loud hobbies—but both suffered hearing damage as a result.

“So Martin and I started testing all the products we could find out there” including “the ‘foamies’ you get for really cheap,” O told Retail Brew, “and basically, especially in the context of nightlife, came back quite disappointed.”

Along with finding some of the foam products uncomfortable, he thought they looked off-putting.

“You go out, you want to meet people, you dress up,” O said. “The last thing that you need is basically social barriers sticking out your ears.”

Using 3D printing, they produced their original Loop Earplugs, named for their Cheerios-shaped section that sits in the outer ear to keep them in place, in 2018. Available in an array of trendy colors, they’ve become what O called “conversation starters” rather than traditional earplugs or over-ear noise-cancelling headphones that are “basically signaling, ‘Leave me alone,’” he said.

Keep reading here.—AAN

A new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research has found that raising prices on essential products can cause lasting reputational harm that outweighs any short-term financial benefits.

In the view of Margaret C. Campbell, professor at UC Riverside School of Business who led the study, the findings shed light on the fact that supply and demand aren’t the only factors informing price expectations. Morality is also on the mind of shoppers.

“People stop wanting to do business with companies they see as acting unfairly,” she said in a statement.

The caveat: This sensitivity to the morality of pricing only applies to essential goods. When it comes to nonessential or discretionary goods, consumers are less sensitive to questions of fairness or ethics.

Keep reading here.—AV

Secondhand luxury might sound like an oxymoron, but there’s no ambiguity around the size of this growing market. At a time where tariffs and price increases are causing headaches for global businesses, this market within a market stands as a bright spot amid increased protectionism or, dare we say it, “slowbalization.”

According to a report from the Boston Consulting Group and pre-owned luxury platform Vestiaire Collective, the secondhand market is growing 10% annually and is expanding three times faster than the primary market for luxury goods. The report estimates the value of the secondhand luxury market will hit $360 billion by 2030.

Keep reading here on Revenue Brew.—LI

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