Men's Warehouse Founder George Zimmer Wants to Change How You Rent a Tux Since exiting Men's Warehouse, Zimmer has launched two startups, Generation Tux and zTailors.
By Nina Zipkin
George Zimmer, the founder and former CEO of Men's Warehouse, isn't done with the men's fashion world yet. In fact, he's getting more into it.
Since his controversial exit from Men's Warehouse in 2013, Zimmer (who's most recognized for the TV commercial tagline "You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it") has launched two new ventures: zTailors, a personal online tailoring platform and app, which rolled out at the end of May, and now Generation Tux, a suit and tuxedo rental company that opened its digital doors this week.
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Generation Tux is joining a growing market of online high end menswear purveyors like Combatant Gentleman, The Black Tux, Menguin and SimpleTux. Meanwhile, Men's Warehouse merged with Jos. A Bank last summer and in 2014, the company reported earning $443 million from the tux rental part of its business.
With Generation Tux, customers can rent a suit or tuxedo, shirt, tie, cummerbund, vest, shoes, socks and cuff links in a range of colors for $150 with free shipping and returns. Unsurprisingly, Zimmer's putting a big emphasis on a guaranteed great fit, including style concierges and free tailoring services from zTailors as part of the service.
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With zTailors, Zimmer wants to be the "Uber for tailors," and has partnered with big names like Bloomingdale's and Macy's – though he told The New York Times this week the company is "still losing millions of dollars."
However, if Generation Tux takes off the way Zimmer hopes, that customer base could translate into more clients for zTailors. For Generation Tux, Zimmer has raised $50 million from investors like Salesforce Ventures and has reportedly invested more than $6 million of his own funds to start shipping 30,000 tuxes to customers from a 200,000 square foot warehouse in Louisville, Kentucky.
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