Cristel Russell Talks Secondary Markets in the Los Angeles Business Journal

Technology has heavily increased the prevalence and access to secondary markets. From pioneers like eBay, to fashion rental companies like Rent the Runway, Style Lend, and Lending Luxury, connectivity has opened the doors for more people to rent and buy secondary products.

In an article written by Destiny Torres of the Los Angeles Business Journal profiling the youth rental fashion platform Stylette, Cristel Russell, Pepperdine Graziadio professor of marketing, offered her expert perspective on secondary markets. In an interview with Torres, Russell explains that the younger generation are more open to buying used clothing or renting clothes, especially when it comes to youth items. 

“The cost of ownership is not just the original purchase. Many of these fancy dresses or outfits you have to dry clean, and you have to store them in a particular way,” Russell said in the article. “The cost of buying plus the cost of owning and maintaining and cleaning and storing, there’s a huge cost that people don’t necessarily think of when they buy something. But if they start to think about it, then maybe with a company like Stylette, a rental fee might not be such a bad deal.”

Stylette, co-founded by Graziadio alumna Sheena Jongeneel (EMBA ‘19), has been making waves in the youth fashion space, offering an extensive catalog of clothing and accessories, including dresses, hair accessories, and suits. Most items cost less than $100 to rent. 

Read the full article in the Los Angeles Business Journal.