George Zimmer
George Zimmer (born November 21, 1948) is an American entrepreneur, the founder and CEO of the Men's Wearhouse, a men's clothing retailer that has more than 1,300 stores[citation needed] across the U.S. and Canada under the brands Moores, Men's Wearhouse and K&G Superstores.
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[edit] Biography
Born in New York City to a Jewish family,[citation needed] Zimmer attended grade schools in Scarsdale, New York, before studying at Washington University in St. Louis where he received an A.B. in Economics in 1970.[1] Upon graduation, he worked as a substitute teacher before joining his father in the clothing manufacturing business. Later in the early 1970s, he worked as a purchasing agent and salesman in Hong Kong.[1]
[edit] Men's Wearhouse
He opened his first Men's Wearhouse store in 1973 in Houston, Texas.[citation needed] Zimmer narrates and appears in many of his company's television commercials, usually closing with the company slogan "You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it." He owns 8.7% of Men's Wearhouse, a stake which, as of November 2004[update], was worth $94 million.[1] On September 14, 2011 George Zimmer received the Kupfer Award by Mays Business school.
[edit] Management, Activism and Personal Life
Zimmer's style of corporate management (for example, the company's June 2004 nomination of spiritual guru Deepak Chopra to its board) is peculiar in the view of some, while others perceive his style as cutting-edge.[1]
Zimmer's experience caring for his mother, who died of cancer, led him to support research into the therapeutic use of MDMA,[2] and for his efforts to legalize marijuana (for instance, by making donations equaling $70,500 to support California's Proposition 19 in 2010).[3][4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Lee, Louise. "Spiffing Up Men's Wearhouse", BusinessWeek, 1 November 2004.
- ^ Zink, Janet. "Party pill gets tryout in therapy", St. Petersburg Times 9 May 2005.
- ^ Hoefell, John. "Measure to legalize marijuana will be on California's November ballot." 25 March 2010.
- ^ Wohlsen, Marcus. "Soros gives $1M to Calif. pot legalization measure." The Associated Press, 26 October 2010.
