George Zimmer
George Zimmer
George Zimmeris an American entrepreneur. He is widely known as the founder, former Executive Chairmanand former CEOof the Men's Wearhouse, a men's clothing retailer that has more than 1,200 stores across the U.S. and Canada under the brands Moores, Men's Wearhouse and K&G Superstores. After leaving his executive position with the company, he continued as the company's spokesperson, until he was fired on June 19, 2013. Zimmer is currently the Chairman, CEO and Founder of Generation Tux, an online...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionEntrepreneur
Date of Birth21 November 1948
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
I believe in giving people a second chance.
Over the last 40 years, I have built MW into a multi-billion dollar company with amazing employees and loyal customers who value the products and service they receive at MW. Over the past several months I have expressed my concerns to the Board about the direction the company is currently heading.Instead of fostering the kind of dialogue in the Boardroom that has in part contributed to our success, the Board has inappropriately chosen to silence my concerns through termination as an executive officer.
In 1997, I was working with Greg Wilson of Red Ball Tiger, our ad agency at the time, when he came up with an addition to the famous slogan 'I guarantee it' that I was known for saying.
I never considered the clothing business in college. But my father was a manufacturer of men's wear in the Northeast and wanted to investigate manufacturing in Asia. In 1972 he sent me to Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong for four months. I'm convinced it was his way of getting me into business, rather than letting me be a hippie.
We opened the first Men's Wearhouse in Houston in August 1973, then a store a year for 10 years in Texas. In the early 1980s I opened a store in the San Francisco Bay Area. Within the year, the Texas economy was in total disarray. We were facing Chapter 11, and if not for the California store, we might not have survived.
Instead of fostering the kind of dialogue in the boardroom that has in part contributed to our success, the board has inappropriately chosen to silence my concerns through termination as an executive officer.
When you're sitting at a table with her, she's very charismatic, much like Bill Clinton. She's empathetic, passionate and intelligent.
We rent one in three tuxedos in the U.S. and Canada, and if we make a mistake, our employees will deliver to the customer's home, office, or wedding. We get a couple hundred letters a week praising the service in our stores.
We will have people coming in for training in summer. I will lead some workshops; we will have consultants for others.
There's much more to differentiation. That will be a large initiative next year.
You're not wasting time teaching kids things they already know.
She puts in a lot of extra work already. This just organizes it to focus on these initiatives.