Head of Investment Banking
Partner and Co-Head of Consumer Retail
David is a Partner and Head of Investment Banking. He also serves as Co-Head of Consumer Retail. David joined the firm in 2012.
David has over 30 years of experience advising notable branded companies in the retail, consumer and business services spaces. David’s broad-based experience spans strategic advisory assignments (special committee, go-privates, shareholder activism, raid defense) as well as capital markets and merger and acquisition transactions. These include buy and sell-side assignments, public and private financings and restructurings.
David’s clients have included The Aldo Group, American Apparel, Inc., Armor Holdings, Inc., Asbury Automotive Group, Inc., Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc., Brooks Brothers Group, Inc., Capital Brands, LLC, Carbon 38, Inc, Charming Charlie Holdings, Inc, Chico’s FAS, Inc., Church & Dwight Co., Inc., Coach, Inc., Dollar Tree, Inc., The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., Five Below, Inc., Flight Club New York Ltd., Fred’s Inc., Haggar Clothing Co., Hanna Andersson Corporation, The Home Depot, Inc., J. Crew Group, Joseph Abboud, Kroll, Inc., Limited Brands, Inc., Liz Claiborne, Inc., L.L. Bean Inc., Lumber Liquidators, Inc., MapMyFitness, Inc., Moose Knuckles, MyFitnessPal, Inc., Nasty Gal Inc., Payless ShoeSource, Inc., The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack, Performance Food Group Company, Perry Ellis International, PVH Corp., RadioShack Corporation, Reef, Refresh Club, Inc. (The Wing), Russell Corp, Saks Incorporated, Sears, Roebuck and Co., Skullcandy, Inc., Sneaker Villa, Inc., SoulCycle Inc., Stage Stores, Inc., Stance, Staples, Inc., Stein Mart, Inc., TAG Heuer International SA, Tailored Brands, Inc., Tilly’s, Inc., The Timberland Company, The TJX Companies, Under Armour, Inc., V.F. Corporation and The Wet Seal, Inc.
Prior to joining Solomon Partners, David spent three years at Miller Buckfire & Co. where he was Partner and Head of Consumer & Retail Investment Banking, and before that, over a decade at Goldman Sachs as Partner and Head of Retail Investment Banking.
Deal Awards
• Perry Ellis sale to George Feldenkreis; Middle Market Deal of the Year (2018)
• Under Armour sale of MyFitnessPal to Francisco Partners; Top Ten Middle Market Deal of the Year (2020), Health & Fitness Deal of the Year (2020)
David received an MBA with concentrations in Accounting and Finance from Columbia Business School and a BA in Biological Basis of Behavior from the University of Pennsylvania.
Served as financial advisor to Dossier on its sale to American Pacific Group
Served as financial advisor to Stance on its sale of assets to Marquee Brands
Serving as financial advisor to the Special Committee of Guess?, Inc.'s Board of Directors on Guess?, Inc.’s take-private transaction by Authentic Brands Group LLC, Co-Founders and CEO
Served as financial advisor to Steve Madden on its acquisition of Kurt Geiger
Served as financial advisor to VERA WANG on the sale of its intellectual property to WHP Global
Served as a financial advisor to Saks Global on its acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group
Served as financial advisor to F9 Brands, Inc., parent company of Cabinets to Go, on its acquisition of certain assets of LL Flooring Holdings, Inc. through a §363 transaction
Served as financial advisor to FATTY Smoked Meat Sticks on its sale to Conagra Brands
Serving as a financial advisor to HBC on its pending acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group
Served as financial advisor to Chico's FAS on its sale to Sycamore Partners
Served as financial advisor to lululemon on strategic alternatives for lululemon studio
Served as advisor to founders of SoulCycle on its minority investment from Equinox
By CEO Marc Cooper David Shiffman joined the firm in May 2012 and, in addition to continuing as Co-Head of the Consumer Retail Group, he was recently promoted to Head of Investment Banking. We talked about how the role strengthens coordination and senior oversight for clients—and how it supports Solomon’s next generation of bankers. Those…
A Stabilizing Landscape Sets the Stage for 2026 As we begin a new year, the consumer and retail sector is on materially stronger footing than it was last spring. While tariff uncertainty and signs of weakening US consumer health remain pressure points, the overall operating environment is more stable. Against this backdrop, we expect meaningful…
by CEO Marc Cooper I recently spoke with Head of Consumer Retail David Shiffman about the phenomenal amount of Mergers & Acquisitions activity in the sector since 2024 and factors contributing to continued momentum. David, tell us about recent retail M&A activity and what your expectations are for Q2 and beyond. Marc there’s been a…
From high-protein snacks to better-for-you (BFY), cleaner-ingredient sodas and candies, the enduring growth and strength of the natural food and beverage sector was in full force at Expo West, the industry’s largest and most highly anticipated trade show. This year, the four-day event — held at the Anaheim Convention Center from March 4 to 7…
The Evolution of Brand Management Companies Walking around Manhattan, it is common to see people sporting Champion sweatshirts, rag & bone jeans, and new Reebok sneakers. At first glance, it might seem like Reebok simply makes sneakers and sells them, yet it is more complicated than that. The Reebok brand is owned by an entity…
Our 2025 Outlook: Trends Impacting Consumer and Retail M&A As the macroeconomic backdrop improves and positive sentiment takes hold across boardrooms, we are optimistic for an acceleration of M&A and capital markets activity in 2025, shaped by these key themes: Retail giants continue to take share and drive overall growth Next-generation brands emerging across categories…
Our 2024 Outlook: Trends Impacting Consumer and Retail M&A Please find our discussion of critical topics we believe will impact 2024 deal-making and valuations in the consumer and retail sectors.
Branded Consumer Products Market Update Our Consumer Retail team’s Branded Consumer Products Market Update covers key industry trends, macroeconomic insights, and the M&A landscape.
Trends Impacting Retail M&A 2023: Annual Consumer Retail Letter Please find our discussion of three critical topics we believe will impact 2023 deal-making and valuation in the retailing sector in the link below.
Trends Impacting Retail M&A 2022: Annual Consumer Retail Letter Please find our discussion of four critical themes we believe are going to impact retailing – and retail deal-making – in 2022 in the report below.
2020 was an exceptional year of transformation for the Sporting Goods & Outdoor Recreation (SGOR) category. Our Consumer Retail team shares its latest thoughts on how the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic led to a broad shift in consumer behavior and reversed the course of many of the established secular trends which defined the previous 20+ years. For…
