About
Who Are We?
The econic company was born of a singular goal: to bring a specialized and bespoke retail real estate experience to both landlords and tenants against an ever-changing retail and economic landscape. Our principal and founder, James Chung, is a 20-year veteran of the commercial real estate community and is a highly regarded retail broker nationally.
We’re Bay Area born and bred – James was raised here (and is a proud Berkeley grad!) and has his finger on the pulse of every retail corridor across the region’s nine counties – and we represent more than 19 million square feet of retail space and 100 national and regional tenants in navigating leasing and location strategies across the U.S.
We understand retail down to the square inch – and a commitment to serving our clients to the highest standard guides everything we do. Our relationships with owners and occupiers are strong, trusted, and longstanding, and they allow us to create unparalleled value for both sides of a transaction.
See what our clients say about us!
Our Process
Our process is designed to produce a very specific result: the long-term success of our client base.
Client Focused
With laserlike focus and unrelenting consistency, we start by seeking to understand the goals and objectives of our clients. We listen with care and intent, and we focus on the “why”.
We then educate our clients on our process and delve into how we will reach their objectives through deliberate, thoughtful, and intentional strategies and timelines. This allows us to set and discuss realistic expectations from the very beginning of our relationship: we know that only then can we move forward in alignment with our client’s needs.
Strategic Execution
Best-in-class analytics allow us to refine, improve, and ultimately execute on each client’s unique strategy. We like to think of this as overlaying the art on a successful formula that matches the evolving market and retail landscape. This systematic approach has been the backbone of our clients’ success in their retail positioning and has built us a reputation as being a market thought leader and expert.
We are unwaveringly focused on advocating for the best interests of our clients, period. Full stop.
With every assignment, we do not deviate from that mission. We value our clients as our partners and are grateful they’ve placed their trust in our expertise to execute on their behalf.
Our mission and commitment
Retail is an integral part of all our communities and directly impacts the human experience on how we shop, live and engage with our surroundings.
The way we see it, a storefront is a “living organism” – from its impact on jobs, supply chains, and the community around it. We view our roles as connectors and place-makers, and we relish the opportunity to curate some of the most unique, engaging retail environments in the country. We focus on service, not fees, regardless of deal size, and we like to think of ourselves as retail’s version of “traffic engineers”: we bring boots-on-the-ground know-how to every deal, because we’re on the streets watching what’s happening, We know who’s in the market, and why they’re doing it – and that gives our team a unique edge to consult at a very high level and to communicate how market conditions are changing.
At the Econic company, we take our discipline very seriously. We have a direct impact on that landscape, and we have a responsibility and a duty to landlords, tenants, and ultimately end users and consumers to do our jobs well. We are grateful for our role in shaping the retail landscape – and we take nothing for granted.