CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share George Zimmer, the public face of Men's Wearhouse, was fired Wednesday with no reason given by the company. Most people recognize Zimmer for the company's TV commercials and his tagline, "You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it." VPC 
 
 Company abruptly fires its founder on the day it was scheduled to hold its annual shareholder's meeting. 
 
 Former Men's Wearhouse chairman George Zimmer is seen in 2008. (Photo: Martin E. Klimek for USA TODAY) Story Highlights George Zimmer founded the Men's Wearhouse chain in 1973 
 
 No reason was given for dismissal, but Zimmer says there were disputes with board 
 
 Zimmer was known for slogan, "You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it." 
 
 This story was originally published June 19, 2013. 
 
 Men's Wearhouse no longer likes the way George Zimmer looks. 
 
 Zimmer, the founder, chairman and the public face of the discount apparel chain, has been terminated, according to a brief statement from the company. 
 
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 Men's Wearhouse gave no reason for Zimmer's departure — which surfaced on Wednesday, just hours before the company postponed its annual shareholders meeting. A company spokesman declined comment but said Zimmer's departure won't affect operations. 
 
 TV AD: George Zimmer's famed slogan in company's marketing 
 
 Since the mid-1980s, Men's Wearhouse TV ads featured the baritone-voiced Zimmer with his signature slogan: "You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it." 
 
 The former substitute schoolteacher built Men's Wearhouse from a lone Houston store that used a cigar box as a cash register into one of the nation's largest men's specialty retailers, with 1,239 stores under the Men's Wearhouse, Moores, K&G and Tux brands. 
 
 In a statement to cable news channel CNBC, Zimmer said in the past several months he had expressed his concerns about the direction of the company to the board of directors and that the board had "chosen to silence my concerns through termination as an executive officer." 
 
 Zimmer's ouster comes less than a week after Men's Wearhouse reported a 23% gain in first-quarter earnings on a 5% sales increase. After falling about 16% in 2012, shares were up about 20% so far this year before Wednesday's announcement. Shares slumped nearly 7% in early trading before closing off 1% at $37.04. 
 
 Zimmer, 64, served as CEO from 1991 until 2011, when he was named executive chairman. According to the company's latest proxy, he holds a 3.5% stake. 
 
 Richard Jaffe, a retail analyst at Stifel & Co., says Zimmer's abrupt departure came as a surprise. Jaffe, who has a buy rating on the company, says Zimmer's transition from hands-on manager to executive chairman may have hastened his ouster. 
 
 "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 says. "We believe that this led to a conflict with the board and his subsequent termination." 
 
 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. 
 
 
 
 "This was a guy who founded and built the company, who probably thought that things can go on the same way forever, and that's the problem with founders,'' says Robbie Vorhaus, an independent communications strategist. 
 
 "You can get a guy with a big ego, and he doesn't want to go away. But management is beholden to customers and shareholders,'' Vorhaus says. "You couldn't do this to a Martha Stewart or an Oprah Winfrey, who are the faces of their brands. But Zimmer was becoming irrelevant." 
 
 Gene Grabowski, a branding and crisis-management expert at Levick, says Men's Wearhouse is due for a new brand image. 
 
 "Most companies go through a transition period and change the way they present themselves,'' Grabowski says. "(Zimmer) and the slogan were getting a little aged. There is appeal to an older audience. They have to find a way to cater to a younger clientele. I could even see them using a woman to promote the brand." 
 
 Follow Strauss on Twitter at @gbstrauss 
 
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 After retailer Men's Wearhouse [NYSE: MW] announced that it "terminated" founder and executive chairman George Zimmer, best known to consumers for his hundreds of TV commercials pitching suits, he fired back saying the company's board "has inappropriately chosen to silence my concerns." 
 
 The company said that "in light of Mr. Zimmer's termination," it is postponing its annual shareholders' meeting which had been scheduled for 11 a.m. today in California. 
 
 "Over the last 40 years, I have built The Men's Wearhouse into a multi-billion dollar company with amazing employees and loyal customers who value the products and service they receive at The Men's Wearhouse," Zimmer said in a statement. "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 by terminating me as an executive officer." 
 
 The company, based in Fremont, Calif., was founded in 1973 by Zimmer. It is one of the country's largest specialty men's retailers with 1,143 stores across the country. The company operates Moores and K&G; Stores in addition to its namesake stores. 
 
 Zimmer's famous tagline was, "You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it." 
 
 Richard Jaffe, analyst with Stifel Nicolaus, wrote in a note that Zimmer had reduced his role at the company "significantly" over the past two years. Zimmer named a new CEO, Doug Ewert, two years ago while designer Joseph Abboud was named as chief creator director in Dec. 2012. 
 
 "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 wrote in his note to investors. "We believe that this led to a conflict with the board and his subsequent termination." 
 
 A spokesman for Men's Wearhouse declined to comment to ABC News. 
 
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 While Zimmer has been the face of the company for decades, accumulating 500 hours of footage, Jaffe said, "The use of Zimmer as spokesperson has, coincidently been under review as management has been evaluating his effectiveness, particularly with the millennial consumer." Zimmer is 64 years old. 
 
 The millenial consumer is typically described as "Generation Y", or people born between 1976 and 2000. 
 
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 Zimmer's most recent pay figure is $1,985,916, according to executive compensation data firm Equilar. According to the firm's most recent proxy, he has 1,771,625 shares, 3 percent of the company, that are worth about $66.4 million based on Tuesday's closing stock price of $37.47. 
 
 President and CEO Doug Ewert earned $2.1 million last year, down from $5.4 million in 2011. Executive vice president Charles Bressler earned $2 million, up from $1.8 million in 2011, according to Equilar. 
 
 The company said the annual meeting was postponed to re-nominate the existing slate of directors without Zimmer, and it will announce the meeting's rescheduled date "shortly." 
 
 The announcement didn't faze Jaffe from Stifel Nicolaus' "buy" rating for Men's Wearhouse. 
 
 "We believe current management has been running the business effectively and will continue to do so," Jaffe wrote. "While we believe near term uncertainty exists as Men's Wearhouse responds to a difficult macro-economic environment, we remain positive on the long term viability of the company, and at the current stock price, the risk/reward is attractive." 
 
 Men's Wearhouse stock was trading around $36.71 a share late Wednesday morning, down about 2 percent. 
 
 Last week, the company reported that first-quarter earnings increased by 23 percent. 
 
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– "George Zimmer" may not be a household name, but his is a household voice. Zimmer is the guy who's been saying, "You're gonna like the way you look. I guarantee it" in Men's Wearhouse commercials for the past 28 years. In addition to being the company's gravelly-voiced spokesperson, he was also its founder and chairman ... "was" being the operative word. The chain announced today that it had terminated Zimmer, USA Today reports. The statement did not offer a reason why, but Zimmer offered a statement of his own. In it, the 64-year-old claims he's been talking to the board of directors about his concerns with where the company is headed; the board, he says, "has inappropriately chosen to silence my concerns," ABC News reports. Zimmer was a substitute school teacher who started the discount clothing chain 40 years ago in Houston. He served as CEO from 1991 to 2011, when he became executive chairman; one analyst says Zimmer apparently "had difficulty letting go of the reins." What's more, he adds, the company was no longer sure Zimmer was an effective spokesperson, "particularly with the millennial consumer."