James Chung launches retail brokerage

Retail veteran James Chung, a Bay Area commercial real estate broker who has transacted more than a billion dollars in total lease consideration, has launched the econic company, a bespoke commercial real estate brokerage based in San Jose and representing clients coast to coast. Chung brings decades of on the ground knowledge to help curate unique, engaging retail environments in the country, and the firm’s guiding principles view storefronts as living organisms, from their impacts on jobs to supply chains to their surrounding communities.

“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,” Chung said in a statement. “We launched econic with a singular goal in mind: to provide seamless service to landlords and tenants alike in a landscape unlike any other in recent memory.”

Chung brings more than 20 years of experience as one of the top retail brokers in the country to his role as founder and principal of econic. Prior to launching the firm, he spent 18 years with global CRE brokerage Cushman & Wakefield, most recently in the position of executive managing director and as the head of retail for the Western United States. He was consistently a top C&W producer and was named National Retail Broker of the Year firm-wide in 2014.

Over the course of his career, Chung has represented more than 100 national and regional tenants and landlords, many of them Fortune 500 companies, and exclusively represents more than 15 million square feet across nine Bay Area counties. With over a billion dollars in total lease consideration and sales in his locker of experience, Chung is relentlessly focused on delivering consistency, creativity, and transparency to his clients.

Econic’s roster of clients has included everything from well known brands like adidas, Sur La Table, Starbucks Coffee, 24 Hour Fitness, Capital One, Chase Bank, US Bank, Party City, PGA Superstore, Salon Republic, Darden, Hmart, MOD Pizza, AT&T, Hibbett Sports, Save Mart Companies, Living Spaces, Inspire Brands, WellBiz Brands, Sutter Health, Fidelity, Cinepolis, and Kids Care Dental. Chung’s agency work on behalf of national REITs and property developers includes such names as Federal Realty, Hunter Properties, Kimco, Black Rock, Balboa Retail Partners, TRC, CIM, Jamestown, Donahue Schriber, and Keenan Land Company.

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