George Zimmer: Men's Wearhouse Has 'Chosen To Silence My Concerns By Terminating Me'

[monmouth3]

<snip>

"We believe that despite Zimmer's planned transition to a smaller role at the company, he had difficulty letting go of the reins and the leadership of the business," Jaffe said in a note to clients. "We believe this led to a conflict with the board and his subsequent termination."

Jaffe also wrote that the use of Zimmer as a spokesman for Men's Wearhouse was "under review as management has been evaluating his effectiveness, particularly with the millennial consumer."

Zimmer's individual importance to Men's Wearhouse was among the risk factors the company listed in its annual report filed in April.

"George Zimmer has been very important to the success of the company and is the primary advertising spokesman," the company said in the filing. "Although we believe we have a strong management team with relevant industry expertise, the extended loss of the services of Mr. Zimmer or other key personnel could have a material adverse effect on the securities markets' view of our prospects and materially harm our business."

<snip>

Full article at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/19/george-zimmer-mens-wearhouse_n_3466654.html

[hobbit709]

1. Tranlation: "I didn't kiss their asses and wouldn't go along with their schemes"

[cbdo2007]

13. That's what happens when you take your company public.....you have to start

answering to the "board" and the investors.

[corkhead]

2. I thought they fired him because he was on trial in Florida, but that is apparently someone else.

[reformist2]

4. That what I was thinking, too, lol.

[corkhead]

7. I'm going to like the way HE looks

in an orange jumpsuit

[Politicalboi]

5. LOL!

I thought the same thing.

[Cirque du So-What]

23. This is George Zimmer, man

not George Zimmerman, and I say this despite the admonition from a wise individual that puns are the lowest common denominator of humor.

[dlwickham]

3. I bought a suit there for my little sister's wedding

they completely fucked up the alterations and the sales clerk had the nerve to yell at me

it took me forever to get it fixed

if and when I need a new suit, I'll pay the extra money for a tailored one

[Xolodno]

6. Translation.....

Glazer's Distributors CEO Sheldon Stein, who serves on the board at Men's Wearhouse, said that he's thrilled with the direction the retailer is heading and throws his full support behind the current management team.

"All I can say is that as a Board member I am very excited about the future of The Men's Wearhouse," Stein said in an email to The Huffington Post. "I totally support our CEO Doug Ewert and our entire management team."

The Board Members are going to make some serious bank by ravaging, pillaging this business and then declare bankruptcy, piss on the small business vendors and take the employee's pay for our bonuses!!!!!

[SoCalDem]

8. Somewhere along the line he accepted "an offer he could not refuse" and now it's time

to pay the piper. When companies grow too big, they eventually become a target for others who don't give a CRAP about the company spokespeople/employees.. They want MONEY when they decide to cash out. His company outgrew HIM...


He probably thought he could ride this out on his terms, but he waited too long to bow out gracefully, so they pushed him out.. This happens all the time.. He even did it himself

The company was founded by George Zimmer in 1973.
Men's Wearhouse in Saugus, Massachusetts

The company operates under the names Men's Wearhouse, K&G Superstores (an off-price retail chain featuring discontinued items), Moores Clothing for Men (a Canadian chain of men's clothing stores), Twin Hill Corporate apparel and MW Cleaners in the Houston Area. In 1997, it purchased, then liquidated, the bankrupt Kuppenheimer chain.[6]

snip
On November 17, 2006, Men's Wearhouse acquired After Hours Formalwear, a clothier specializing in black tie formalwear, from Federated Department Stores, the parent company of department store giant Macy's.

[HiPointDem]

10. he did *what* himself? i went to your links & didn't see anything about zimmerman forcing

out the founder of after hours formalwear.

[SoCalDem]

24. George Zimmer is not George ZimmerMAN

[HiPointDem]

25. i didn't see anything about george *zimmer* forcing out the founder of after hours, either.

[SoCalDem]

26. buy out/force out.. when one CEO buys out another CEO they both don't stay as front man

Company growth always involves attrition


Zimmer grew his business to the point that his board chucked him out

[HiPointDem]

30. after hours wasn't owned by its founder in 2006, it was owned by federated dept stores. the

2006 acquisition was one big corporation acquiring part of another, even bigger, corporation, not
some individual entrepreneur getting kicked to the curb.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MW_Tux

Originally known as Mitchell's Formalwear and founded in 1946, After Hours was the result of the acquisition by Mitchell's of fellow clothiers Small's and Tuxedo World in the late 1990s, and has since acquired and assimilated several other chains in the United States.

After Hours was acquired by May Department Stores in 2001, and became a part of Federated Department Stores following that company's buyout of May in 2005. It operates over 450 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia. It was combined with David's Bridal when acquired by May, and during that time coordinated much of its inventory with David's Bridal.

On November 17, 2006, After Hours Formalwear was sold to Men's Wearhouse and David's Bridal was purchased along with sister division Priscilla of Boston by Leonard Green & Partners.[1][1] The chain operated as MW Tux for a year, before being re-branded again as Men's Wearhouse & Tux.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MW_Tux


Federated = Macy's.

Macy's, Inc., originally Federated Department Stores, Inc., is an American multinational holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio...According to Deloitte, Macy's, Inc. is the world's largest fashion goods retailer and the 36th largest retailer overall, based on the company's reported 2010 retail sales revenue of $25 billion.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_Department_Stores

[SoCalDem]

37. In ANY case.. Farewell, George

[HiPointDem]

38. in any case, your post is bullshit.

[SoCalDem]

39. geez.. who pissed in your cheerios?

[HiPointDem]

40. your post was bullshit & you won't cop to it. not a matter of anyone pissing in my cheerios

(deflection to the personal), just noting the fact.

[npk]

9. He was an outspoken progressive. That can get you fired in Corporate America. n.t.

[Dreamer Tatum]

12. Oh bullshit. If he founded it and is getting forced out

then he sold out to the man some time ago.

Take your money and fuck off, Zimmer. You're going to like your retirement more than people you hose for $400 suits - I guarantee it.

[Dreamer Tatum]

16. No, I just have zero sympathy for someone who made the decision to sell out.

He got paid, probably an awful lot. Why people are crying tears for him, I don't understand.

[frylock]

17. because by all accounts he seems like a pretty decent fellow..

i'm not crying, but i'll be damned if i'm going to align with some fuckstick greedy shareholders. this guy will be fine.

[Dreamer Tatum]

19. How do you know anyone is greedy in this scenario?

Maybe they want to market differently. Maybe they want to grow differently.

How are you so sure the owners are all that bad?

[frylock]

21. why would they pay him to retain his likeness for advertising..

if this is all about marketing differently?

Zimmer earned nearly $2 million last year in pay, bonuses and other compensation. Men's Wearhouse will owe Zimmer $250,000 annually for four years under a licensing deal for his image in advertising and marketing efforts, according to the proxy. He's also due termination pay and benefits valued at about $2.7 million.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/06/19/mens-wearhouse-founder-chairman-george-zimmer/2437493/

[11 Bravo]

33. How do you know anyone is greedy in this scenario? Did someone else write post #12 after ...

hijacking your DU account?

[npk]

20. Who the hell did he sell out to

Did you even read the article? Let me guess no. The man stepped down as CEO in 2011 and appointed his replacement. He took a lesser role in the company, but was still vocal about the direction the company was going in. If you connect the dots, you will learn that Men's Warehouse - while Zimmer was the Founder and CEO - mostly sold very inexpensive suits and professional business attire that non - rich people could afford. More than likely the board was not happy with Zimmer, and like most of corporate america these days it's all about profits. I use to shop at Men's Warehouse and I could buy a very nice suit for under $199. Now that same suit will cost you at least $100 more. I am sure that when Zimmer was "forced" to take this lesser role he was probably still trying to challenge the board about the direction he saw the company going and apparently how the company's main concern seemed to only be for it's shareholders and not its customers.

BTW, very rarely does a CEO, who is also the Founder of a company step down and take a lesser role, with less pay with that company, unless he is being forced to do so. You say he sold out. That is odd, because if he wanted to sell out he could have sold the company, made an even bigger fortune, and really stuck it to the employees by saying see ya lad's and collected his fat check and hit the Bahamas'. But he chose to stay and got the boot for his troubles. Does't seem like a sellout to me.

[malaise]

11. Doesn't Rmoney's Bain own Men's Wearhouse? n/t

[hughee99]

18. I don't believe anyone owns them, in whole, though

it is a publicly traded company, with a bunch of small cap funds owning a lot of shares.

[smokey nj]

22. No.

[louis-t]

28. No, but Bain does own Guitar Center.

I will NEVER go there again.

[GeorgeGist]

36. NO, but Men's Wearhouse is debt free ...

[frylock]

14. In Oakland, Men's Wearhouse Likes the Way the 99% Look

http://www.minyanville.com/mvpremium/2011/11/02/mens-wearhouse-likes-the-way/

[Aristus]

27. I worked for The Men's Wearhouse for a little over a year. I met George Zimmer.

He's a supremely good guy; very nice, very charming. And he's true-blue. I've spent thousands at my local store, and gotten very good value for my money. Hate to see him mistreated by the board. He deserves better. And he hasn't "sold-out" if he still stands by his products, and pushes for quality.

[louis-t]

29. I've had nothing but good luck at MW.

All of my favorite Merino wool shirts came from there. The suit I bought there still looks great after 10 years.

[11 Bravo]

35. Yeah, but he made money in business, so according to a few uber-hip lefties he must be ...

a greedy, running-dog enemy of the people.

[senseandsensibility]

31. He donated "thousands" of dollars to a campaign to legalize marijuana according

to a story I read this morning. Maybe the board didn't like that.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

41. I used to work at a post house --

in SF that Men's Warehouse used for their commercials. George was always present for the editing, always involved in making creative decisions, and, generally, stoned. He was notorious for wanting an editing suite where he could sneak out onto the dock alongside our building for a smoke.

[Buns_of_Fire]

32. Somehow, he always reminded me of Jonathan Goldsmith. Or vice-versa.

You know -- The Most Interesting Man in the World.

"Stay dressed, my friends."

[Marr]

34. Eh, he's still got the Most Interesting Man in the World gig to keep him busy.