George Zimmer Clearly Hates The Way Men’s Wearhouse Board Is Trying To Make Him Look

Fingers, they are a'pointing.

Fingers, they are a’pointing.

Ever since George “You Only Liked The Way You Looked When I Was At The Company, Right?” Zimmer was booted from his spot as executive chairman of Men’s Wearhouse, he has not been a happy camper. Earlier this week he resigned from the board altogether, prompting his former colleagues at the retailer to issue a statement basically calling him a power-hungry grumpyface. That didn’t sit so well, it seems, as Zimmer has now fired off a letter full of zingers back at the board.

Zimmer, who founded Men’s Wearhouse 40 years ago and was the company’s face for decades — says he did encourage the board to consider its options, including going private. However, he says in his letter, via CNBC:

“Rather than thoughtfully evaluating the idea or even checking the market to see what value might be created through such strategic alternatives, the Board quickly and without the assistance of financial advisors simply rejected the idea, refused to even discuss the topic or permit me to collect and present to the board any information about its possibilities and feasibility, and instead took steps to marginalize and then silence me.”

Instead, he says, the directors are a bunch of sticks in the mud who didn’t want to consider “the full range of possibilities that might benefit our shareholders and indeed all our stakeholders.”

He ends by pointing the finger at the Men’s Wearhouse board, claiming that it’s bringing the company down:

“The reality is that over the past two years, and particularly over recent months, I believe that the board and management have been eroding the principles and values that have made The Men’s Wearhouse so successful for all stakeholders.”

The company said earlier this week that all this amounts to Zimmer trying for a power grab, and that he’s having “difficulty accepting the fact that Men’s Wearhouse is a public company with an independent Board of Directors and that he has not been the chief executive officer for two years.”

I’ve never been a former member of the board of men’s suit warehouse but it doesn’t seem like this is the way to go about kissing and making up. I think it’s over, guys. It’s really over.

Zimmer Lashes Out at Men’s Wearhouse Board in Open Letter [CNBC]

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