The Retail Strategy
The Retail Strategy is a tenant-only commercial real estate firm founded in 2009 that functions as a full-service outsourced real estate department for franchise and corporate retail brands. It delivers site selection, lease negotiation, and portfolio management across 48+ U.S. states, supported by its proprietary REMI mapping platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Retail Strategy does
The Retail Strategy is a tenant-only commercial real estate firm that operates as a full-service outsourced real estate department for franchise and corporate retail brands. Founded in 2009 by Lauren Brunner in Austin, Texas, the company provides three integrated service lines: Location Intelligence, Real Estate Management, and Brokerage Services. Across more than 15 years it has signed over 1,500 leases on behalf of 100+ brands across 48+ U.S. states, helping clients open 400+ locations and save more than $150 million in occupancy costs. The firm explicitly declines to represent landlords, eliminating the dual-agency conflicts common to traditional CRE brokerages.
The company's analytical backbone is REMI (Real Estate Mapping Interface), a proprietary interactive mapping platform built on Esri's Experience Builder that visualizes competitor locations, customer demographics, national demographic layers, market build-outs, and trade areas to support franchise territory mapping and white space analysis. REMI was complemented in March 2026 by a formal partnership with Placer.ai that layers foot-traffic analytics into the site selection workflow. The firm operates from offices in Austin/Bee Cave, Houston, and Ohio, with a team of approximately 13 professionals spanning brokers, real estate managers, and a dedicated location intelligence unit led by a director with a geography/GIS background.
Revenue is generated through two streams: commission-based tenant representation (typically paid by the landlord at lease signing, with no direct cost to the tenant) and retainer-based real estate management services for ongoing portfolio oversight. Customer logos span major national brands including Panda Express, McDonald's, Chili's, Dutch Bros Coffee, Dairy Queen, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Alamo Drafthouse, Dave's Hot Chicken, Dollar Tree, Chase Bank, F45 Training, American Family Care, Great Clips, Firestone, and others across restaurant/QSR, fitness, beauty/med spa, healthcare, automotive, and general retail verticals. Distribution is direct enterprise sales supported by content marketing and industry participation in ICSC, CBLA, and W.I.R.E.D.
The Retail Strategy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Retail Strategy
- Legal name
- The Retail Strategy
- Website
- https://theretailstrategy.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Retail Strategy is a tenant-only commercial real estate firm founded in 2009 that functions as a full-service outsourced real estate department for franchise and corporate retail brands. It delivers site selection, lease negotiation, and portfolio management across 48+ U.S. states, supported by its proprietary REMI mapping platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Retail Strategy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Commercial Real Estate Services
- akta.pro primary industry
- Retail Tenant Representation (BPAJALAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Retail Brokerage (BPAJABAB), Retail Real Estate Asset Management (BPAJAMAF), Category Management & Retail Analytics (MPAAAJAI)
Keywords
Where The Retail Strategy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
The Retail Strategy business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Tenant Representation Brokerage: Most retail tenant representation firms work on a commission basis, paid by the landlord at lease signing, meaning there is typically no direct cost to the tenant for brokerage services. TRS identifies off-market opportunities and advocates for tenant interests during site search and lease negotiation.
- Real Estate Management Retainer: Some firms including those offering full-service real estate management charge a retainer for ongoing advisory, portfolio management, and location intelligence services. Scope depends on brand size and services engaged.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Retail Strategy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Retail Strategy is a tenant-representation-only commercial real estate firm that functions as a full-service outsourced real estate department for franchise and corporate retail brands. Its core work spans site selection, lease negotiation, and ongoing real estate management supported by a proprietary REMI mapping platform for location intelligence and territory analysis. Services are delivered via direct enterprise engagement across 48+ U.S. states.
Product overview
The Retail Strategy offers a full-service outsourced real estate department combining three core service lines: Location Intelligence, Real Estate Management, and Brokerage Services. These services are delivered through an integrated approach supported by their proprietary REMI (Real Estate Mapping Interface) platform built on Esri's Experience Builder. Location Intelligence provides strategic market analysis and territory mapping for data-driven expansion; Real Estate Management offers dedicated managers for portfolio oversight and lease coordination; and Brokerage Services provides tenant-only representation with off-market site sourcing and expert lease negotiation. Together, these offerings function as a complete outsourced real estate department for franchise and corporate brands seeking expansion across 48+ states.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Brokerage Services Tenant-only representation and off-market site sourcing service providing lease negotiation, rental analysis, and transaction execution for franchise and corporate retail brands.
- Location Intelligence Strategic market analysis and territory mapping service enabling data-driven retail expansion decisions for franchise and corporate brands.
- Real Estate Management Outsourced real estate management service assigning dedicated managers to handle market planning, site approval, lease negotiation, portfolio oversight, and recurring reporting across 48+ states.
- REMI (Real Estate Mapping Interface) Proprietary interactive mapping platform built on Esri's Experience Builder that allows brands to visualize spatial data including competitor locations, customer demographics, national demographic layers, and market build-outs for informed site selection decisions.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over $150 million saved in occupancy costs for clients across 1,500+ leases
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use The Retail Strategy
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Retail Strategy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
The Retail Strategy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Placer.aicoreThe Retail Strategy partnered with Placer.ai to bridge the gap between location analytics and deal execution. The partnership enhances The Retail Strategy's location analytics capabilities by integrating Placer.ai's analytics services, which provide insights to help grow businesses. This integration supports the firm's data-driven approach to market expansion and site selection for franchise and corporate brands.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves12 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Retail Strategy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SRS Real Estate Partners: National retail-focused commercial real estate firm offering tenant and landlord representation, property management, and capital markets to retailers and restaurants. Directly comparable to TRS in retail tenant rep, multi-state reach, and franchise/restaurant client base.
- The Shopping Center Group: Retail-specialized commercial real estate brokerage providing tenant representation, landlord representation, and site selection across the U.S. Closest direct competitor to TRS in retail-only tenant rep with similar franchise and national-brand client roster.
Emerging players
- SiteZeus: AI-driven location intelligence platform for retail and restaurant site selection, providing white-space analysis and predictive modeling. Comparable to TRS's REMI capability as a competing analytics offering for franchise expansion clients.
- Buxton Company: Retail analytics firm specializing in customer profiling, site scoring, and trade area analysis for retail and restaurant chains. Overlaps with TRS's location intelligence service and competes for the same franchise customer base.
- Kalibrate: Retail location intelligence and market planning platform offering site modeling, cannibalization analysis, and trade area evaluation for multi-unit operators. Overlaps with TRS's REMI capabilities and competes for franchise and retail chain analytics budgets.
Broad incumbents
- CBRE Group: World's largest commercial real estate services firm offering brokerage, property management, and advisory across all property types including retail. Represents both tenants and landlords, contrasting with TRS's tenant-only positioning, but competes for large enterprise retail mandates.
- JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle): Global real estate services firm providing brokerage, property management, and capital markets advisory to retail and corporate occupiers. Competes with TRS for enterprise retail tenant representation work and has a dedicated retail practice.
- Cushman & Wakefield: Global commercial real estate services firm offering tenant representation, agency leasing, and retail advisory across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. Provides integrated retail brokerage services that overlap with TRS for multi-market enterprise retail clients.
- Newmark Group: Commercial real estate advisory and services firm with a strong retail leasing practice serving national tenants. Comparable to TRS in retail tenant rep with broader capital markets and investment sales capabilities.
Others
- Placer.ai: Foot-traffic analytics and location intelligence platform serving retail, real estate, and consumer brands. Now a strategic technology partner of TRS but also a competing data provider in franchise site selection and trade area analysis.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Retail Strategy social profiles
Digital presenceThe Retail Strategy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Retail Strategy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
The Retail Strategy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Retail Strategy M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Retail Strategy
What does The Retail Strategy do?
The Retail Strategy is a tenant-representation-only commercial real estate firm that functions as a full-service outsourced real estate department for franchise and corporate retail brands. Its core work spans site selection, lease negotiation, and ongoing real estate management supported by a proprietary REMI mapping platform for location intelligence and territory analysis. Services are delivered via direct enterprise engagement across 48+ U.S. states.
Is The Retail Strategy a public or private company?
The Retail Strategy is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Retail Strategy founded?
The Retail Strategy was founded in 2009. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Retail Strategy based?
The Retail Strategy is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Retail Strategy make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Tenant Representation Brokerage is the primary driver. The others are real Estate Management Retainer.
Who are The Retail Strategy's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SRS Real Estate Partners and The Shopping Center Group. Emerging players are SiteZeus, Buxton Company and Kalibrate. Broad incumbents are CBRE Group, JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle), Cushman & Wakefield and Newmark Group. Placer.ai is listed as an others.
Does The Retail Strategy have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Retail Strategy.
What industry is The Retail Strategy in?
The Retail Strategy's product category is Commercial Real Estate Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAJALAB, Retail Tenant Representation, with a secondary code of BPAJABAB, Retail Brokerage.