By Firing Its CEO Did Mens Wearhouse Just Fire Its Whole Brand?

The danger in having a CEO represent a brand is that if anything happens to that individual, it can affect the company's ability to market itself and build its value.

George Zimmer was the founder and chairman of a discount US retail clothier called Mens Wearhouse. He became the face of the company in its omnipresent television ads, pledging to customers in his gravelly, reassuring voice 'You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it.'

And then yesterday the firm's board of directors fired him. There are some who argue that the real reason he was fired had nothing to do with his management style or business philosophy but because the board became concerned that his image and message were no longer appropriate for growing the brand with younger customers.

Whether that is true or not, the list of brands attempting dramatic change - and then facing consumer revolts - is probably longer than the list of those who have successfully pulled it off. Research conducted by Leslie Gains-Ross has demonstrated that a company may derive as much as 40 percent of its reputation from that of an iconic CEO. That can cut both ways, as divorces, substance abuse and fraud have demonstrated in numerous cases.

But when company's make a decision to put someone out in front who works there rather than a hired celebrity, customers believe, rightly, that a statement is being made about values and image. If they like the individual, they buy into whatever that perception communicates to them. Assuming sales grow, the identification effort has been successful. Removing that person, especially if it is apparent that it was not by mutual consent, calls into question the front-person's message and the values that underpin it. This may sometimes be necessary, but the results can be uncertain: questions about what the brand stands for may be raised and an important connection with the customer can be lost. I guarantee it. JL

Kathryn Dill reports in Forbes:

Parting ways with a founder and former CEO so strongly tied to company identity can create uncertainty not only among shareholders, but among customers whose expectations are firmly established. An icy public departure—as Zimmer’s seems to have been—can set off alarm bells, making recovery and rebranding far more challenging.
News that Men’s Wearhouse had fired founder and chairman George Zimmer came as a surprise on Wednesday. Zimmer not only built the apparel super chain but was the public face of the brand for four decades, delivering his signature “You’re going to like the way you look—I guarantee it” line at the end of each commercial.
The board’s move raised a number of questions. Men’s Wearhouse has been a strong performer, with a solid first quarter that saw net sales up 8.2 percent over the same period last year. Beyond the company’s overall health, many have questioned the wisdom of parting ways with a frontman who has delivered the slogan via which consumers have come to identify the brand.
“Love him or hate him, George Zimmer WAS the brand,” said Brent Vartan, chief strategy officer at Deutsch, via email. “And that message – delivered through the image of a comfortable and confident George in a chair – was crystal clear.”

“The downside of having the CEO or founder as your spokesperson is if you don’t have a contingency plan when they go, your brand can really suffer the consequence,” said Lesley Bielby, head of brand strategy for Digitas North America. “It’s not easy after such an extensive campaign where one individual has been used to front the brand.”
Analysts have speculated that Zimmer may have been ousted as part of a company attempt to attract millennial customers, a demographic among which Men’s Wearhouse has yet to gain serious traction. It’s a group that may have seen Zimmer’s commercials growing up but is unlikely to be responsive to them now.
“There’s definitely a theory that consistent advertising, particularly television, doesn’t really appeal to [millennials] in the way it did to Generation X and boomers,” said Bielby.
Additionally, Bielby says, brands must constantly be considering whether their leader is an appropriate face for the company, to any group, at any time: Does the founder “have the flexibility to represent the brand at any moment they might be called upon to do so? It’s not about just building for the long term, it’s building for now as well.”
While Zimmer’s significance to the Men’s Wearhouse brand may have seemed primarily consumer facing, his departure could signal significant shifts within the company.
“The strongest brands are built inside and out. They’re not just things that we’ve come to recognize, they’re well built, organized brands internally, with great clarity and commitment and responsiveness,” said Josh Feldmeth, CEO of Interbrand NY. “What’s so clear about Zimmer’s legacy is that he was both. He wasn’t just the face of the brand, he was the guy who built this brand from one store to what it is today.”
Examples abound of companies—including KFC, Yahoo Yahoo, and Starbucks Starbucks—that have been challenged by the death or untimely departure of a leader with whom the brand was strongly associated, and responded with varying levels of success.
Bielby cites Wendy’s as an example of a brand that has implemented a clear strategy to deal with the loss of a leader, Dave Thomas, who was also the face of the company to consumers. The chain now runs commercials that feature Thomas’ daughter Wendy, the restaurants’ namesake and the inspiration for the cartoon redhead in the company logo.
Recalling Apple’s famed reunion with CEO Steve Jobs, Feldmeth cautions that this is “the age of the reincarnated CEO,” and consumers may not have seen the last of George Zimmer at the helm of Men’s Wearhouse.
In the meantime, the company’s best strategy may be to provide consumers insight into a move that’s left ample room for speculation. “How [does the board] explain this? They have to move on that fast,” said David E. Johnson, CEO of branding agency Strategic Vision. “They need to get the story out fast—or they’ve sacrificed their founder and their brand identity.”