The one thing George Zimmer couldn’t guarantee was his job at Men’s Wearhouse.
The apparel retailer’s founder and longtime pitchman was abruptly dismissed from his position as executive chairman, the retailer said in a curt statement Wednesday.
By starring in the company’s television commercials since 1985, Zimmer endeared himself to generations of shoppers. He marketed suits by intoning, in his distinctive gravelly voice: “You’re going to like the way you look. I guarantee it.”
The company said it expects to discuss with Zimmer “the extent, if any, and terms of his ongoing relationship” with the brand, which has corporate offices in Houston and Fremont, Calif. The chain added that it had postponed its annual shareholders meeting, which had been scheduled for Wednesday, so it could renominate its board members without Zimmer.
The company gave no explanation of why Zimmer, who launched the company four decades ago, was being suddenly booted. Zimmer said in his own statement that he had spent recent months expressing 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 by terminating me as an executive officer,” he said.
