Better products.Built for the U.S. customer.Backed by retail experience.
I help overseas manufacturers and brands develop products for U.S. customers and retailers. I also help retailers improve assortments, sales, and margin—and help teams make better product decisions.
Bring me a product that needs work, an assortment that isn’t delivering, or a team that needs a better way to decide what to carry. We’ll define the problem and the scope together.
01
Product Development
Turn an idea into the right product for your customer, your channel, and your price point. I also help overseas manufacturers design and adapt products for U.S. customers and retailers.
From concept through development, costing, and launch
Where I help: Product direction, customer fit, materials, proportions, finishes, price architecture, and coordination with sourcing.
What you leave with: Clear product priorities and specific changes your team and manufacturing partners can act on.
02
Assortment & Business Diagnosis
Find the gaps, duplication, and commercial decisions that are limiting performance.
A clear view of what to keep, change, or remove
Where I help: Category structure, assortment roles, price ladders, product performance, inventory, and the customer’s shopping experience.
What you leave with: A prioritized action plan showing what to change, why it matters, and how it can improve sales, margin, or inventory.
03
Team Coaching
Help merchants, developers, and sourcing teams ask better questions and make better product decisions.
Practical teaching built around your real work
Where I help: Working sessions, product reviews, coaching, and shared decision frameworks.
What you leave with: A common language and process for evaluating products and a team better equipped to explain why a choice works.
Experience that delivers results
Judgment backed by results.
Selected results from my career in product development, category leadership, and sourcing.
Walmart · Window category
$800M → $1.25B
Led product development that helped grow the window category from approximately $800M to $1.25B. Senior Product Development Manager II · 2005–2016
What this means for you
Develop products and a category strategy that support sales growth and stronger margins.
Do it Best · Outdoor & Holiday
30%less inventory
Grew the business from $200M to $420M in one year while reducing inventory by 30% and improving initial markup by 2.5 percentage points. Merchandising Manager (Senior Buyer) · 2021–2022
What this means for you
Improve your assortment, reduce excess inventory, and strengthen profitability.
Loctek · U.S. product portfolio
~250product launches
Led approximately 250 product launches across a $200M U.S. portfolio, connecting customer needs with manufacturing execution. Head of Merchandising & Product Development—U.S. · Aug 2024–Apr 2026
What this means for you
Adapt products for U.S. customers and retailers, with clear direction on materials, finishes, size, features, and pricing.
What working together looks like
Your problem. A practical plan.
I work with manufacturers, consumer-product brands, and retailers, especially in home, furniture, outdoor, and related consumer categories.
Start with a conversation
Tell me your goal, what is getting in the way, and who is involved. We’ll decide where I can be useful.
Agree on the work
A focused project, ongoing advisory support, or a team workshop. We agree on the scope, deliverables, timing, and fee before work begins.
Put it into practice
I work alongside your team on clear, usable recommendations. Remote sessions, on-site work, and factory visits can be discussed when they serve the project.
About me
I’m Jim Scalfani. My work sits where product development, merchandising, and sourcing meet.
I’ve worked across major retailers, brands, and manufacturers—from brand development at Kathy Ireland Worldwide to product and category leadership at Walmart, Sam’s Club, Do it Best, Adorama, and Loctek.
I’m comfortable in the strategy conversation and in the details: what to change, what it should cost, how it fits the assortment, and why a customer would choose it.
I’ve taught at Otis College of Art and Design and delivered master classes and guest presentations at Notre Dame, Columbia, George Washington, Duke, and Loyola Marymount universities. Teaching and coaching are part of how I help teams build judgment they can use after our work together ends.
