We Combine Business Strategy, Social Psychology, and Years of Invaluable Perspective

Our research + facilitation approach delivers decision-making insights for acquisitions, marketing, and experience/service design. Alone, insight research or strategy facilitation will help your business; together, they deliver growth through retail clarity. From C-suite to the front line, you have a clear North Star, alignment on the way forward, and growth momentum.

That’s why you demand retail clarity for your organization.

Delivering Results

How retail clarity drives growth:

Esso

While leading Esso through transformational changes, working with retail and commercial leadership, David Saffer and his team delivered record levels of retailer and employee satisfaction.

Duane Reade

Leading consumer insight, customer satisfaction and manager-feedback programs, David Saffer collaborated with Joe Jackman John Lederer, and many others in developing strategy and implementing the successful turnaround of Duane Reade.

David's Bridal

Working with David's Bridal as it moved from 50 to 300 stores, David Saffer carried out advanced consumer analytics and collaborated on driving ROI across categories including prom, bridesmaids, vendor program, plus size and White By Vera Wang.

FreshCo

Using existing data from many sources, David Saffer uncovered consumer insights instrumental in the strategy and transformation of Price Chopper into FreshCo.

Sephora

David Saffer and team led Sephora's top European managers through an improvement process to reshape the in-store customer experience resulting in larger basket, improved satisfaction scores and exceptional employee retention.

David Saffer gets retail. Through his career journey from researcher to communication consultant and ultimately business advisor - across categories and from small to global-scale businesses - he has learned where and how to add value.

Joe Jackman

CEO and Co-founder, Jackman

I worked with David and team during our transformation of Price Chopper to FreshCo. David brought important consumer insights to our strategy and helped build our NYC innovation tour to cement some key ideas. I would recommend David to executives looking for clarity in their positioning and in their marketing programs. He listens well and focuses on the core issue.

Rob Adams

GM Discount Format, Sobeys

David has a fantastic ability to gather and synthesize data, and craft a compelling story and actionable roadmap to support the business. He has a fabulous understanding of retailing and customers and is truly enjoyable to work with. I highly recommend David.

Scott Rogers

Vice President, Member Experience at Mountain America Credit Union

David is a rare combination of practical tactics and customer-driven, higher level strategy. While he's added value across many industries, retail is, and has always been, his passion. His ability to get inside the heads of customers and then use that to improve the retailer's overall strategy as well as to make tangible changes in-store sets him apart.

Kevin O'Brien

Chief Client Officer, Aeroplan, Aimia Inc

David and I worked together on the repositioning and rebranding of a major Canadian supermarket chain. He is able to pull together many stakeholders during the process and work in a very collaborative fashion while pursuing a laser like focus to get to the point...David is a very creative individual but he is a master of solid retail strategy and keeps a client focused on the prize.

Tom Froggatt

Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Hertz Canada

Years of Industry experience

Retail strategies facilitated

Focus groups, ethnographies, and customer journeys

Delivering growth and having fun along the way...

Our founder has a history of successfully leading the world’s top retailers past challenges that prevent them from achieving growth. Combining qualitative research, analytics, advertising, branding, and strategy, David and his teams have consistently delivered the clarity and changes required for retail success.

Our firm’s methodology – our retail clarity approach – is a proven combination of:

In-depth insights on consumer behaviour and organizational competencies.
Relevant category and socio-economic trends that help place fears of digital and other disruptions in a realistic and manageable context.
Strategic understanding of our clients’ unique operational and competitive parameters that allows for far-reaching vision, pragmatic tactics, and an ability to “start the future today.”
Workshop facilitation and a co-creation approach that ensures alignment is strengthened throughout the process, because information is shared, voices are heard during its interpretation, and the outcome is agreement on a single view of the truth.

We believe the journey to growth is as important as the growth itself. Why? Because business strategy and sales growth can be a life-enriching experience as well as a profitable one.

Our clients’ success is a result of having both

The right strategy, set of tactics and implementation roadmap; and
Having stronger engagement and alignment.

A + B = Retail Clarity^™

Career Highlights

2016 –

David Saffer Consultancy. Qualitative lead with Fusion Analytics. Marketing due diligence with Group Ventures Inc. Research support to Reunion Strategy and Saffer Retail.

1999 – 2015

Jackman Reinvents: Co-founded the firm; senior partner from start-up to over 120 employees and global success. Diesel Think>Tank and SECOR Toronto: Co-founder of management consulting firm; grew firm to the largest independent consulting office in Canada before it was sold to KPMG.

1988 – 1998

Decima Research, Hill & Knowlton, Market Vision, Saffer Group Advertising.

Summary

Twenty-five+ years of experience leading hundreds of qualitative and quantitative research studies, strategy facilitation and development initiatives, advertising campaigns, and branding engagements for retailers, packaged goods, and health care organizations.

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