IRVINE, CA—We will continue to see a transformation of neighborhoods and submarkets throughout the West Coast as they adapt to consumers' retail preferences, JLL's Howard Wong tells GlobeSt.com. Wong recently joined the firm as a VP based in Orange County and will support the its investor and owner clients with their leasing efforts and merchandising strategy for retail properties on the West Coast and in Hawaii.

Wong brings 25 years of leasing experience in the shopping-center and retail industry through the US and has also worked internationally on tenant-presentation projects and with investors from Asia Pacific and China. Prior to joining JLL, he was managing director and director of leasing for Passco Cos., where he oversaw the leasing services of the firm's retail portfolio of regional malls, lifestyle centers, power centers and new developments and co-managed the acquisitions of shopping centers and street-retail redevelopments.

We spoke with Wong about the challenges to retail leasing on the West Coast, which new types of tenants are coming in and how landlords are partnering with retail tenants to boost their success in this market.