Apparently, Men's Wearhouse doesn't like the way its founder looks. In a terse release issued Wednesday, Men's Wearhouse said it has fired the face of the company and its executive chairman, George Zimmer, who appeared in its TV commercials with the slogan "You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it."
It was a safe bet that Cerner Corp. would once again lead the The Star’s rankings as the region’s top-performing public company. Cerner, the nation’s second-largest company that helps hospitals and doctors’ offices convert paper files into computerized medical records, is in a sweet spot. Other top-ranked companies here do business in areas that have an edge: energy, rail transit and online government services.
The already-hefty pay packages of many public-company executives bulged last year, thanks to higher values of their company stocks. Million-dollar base salaries – as paid to Cerner Corp. CEO Neal Patterson (pictured) and Waddell & Reed Financial CEO Hank Herrmann – are only the beginning. For most of the bigger-company CEOs, stock awards, options and “non-equity incentive” compensation dwarf their base pay.
The Pie Five Pizza Co. — which sells individual pizzas made to order and cooked in five minutes — has picked a place for its first area location. Pie Five plans to open later this summer at 13366 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park.
Ivan Marquez has built a strong following with two Overland Park restaurants, one full-service, the other fast-casual. Now he’s expanding with a third restaurant. But this one is on the other side of the metro area, in Gladstone.
Best Buy is recalling 5,100 replacement batteries for the MacBook Pro due to a fire risk.
The satellite television company blamed Overland Park-based Sprint and its revised agreement to be acquired by SoftBank Corp. Sprint had set the deadline for Dish’s “best and final offer” after rejecting an earlier proposal from Dish as one it could not act on.
U.S. HealthWorks, which operates occupational healthcare and urgent care centers, on Tuesday announced the purchase of seven clinics and two worksite locations in the Kansas City area. The locations were acquired from OHS-Compare clinics.
AT&T will hold two hiring events on Wednesday to fill more than 40 open retail sales positions in the Kansas City area. The events will be from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 6615 W. 135th St., Overland Park, and 19210 E. 39th St., Suite A, Independence.
The Kansas City architectural firm Populous will work on a 20,000-seat project that is being co-developed by AEG, the Los Angeles-based operator of the Sprint Center, and MGM Resorts International.
With the heart of Kansas City reviving its pulse the past decade or so — at least as a place to live and play — why have businesses pretty much been no-shows? Census numbers indicate that greater downtown lost more than 16,000 jobs from 2001 to 2011, a 19.6 percent drop.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis will begin recognize spending on research and development. And, take another deep breath, it will begin counting investment in the creation of entertainment, literary and other artistic originals.
The bulls have been feeding on a host of good economic news and are licking their chops for more. Still, given the last five lousy years, many of us are watching the battered bears up in those trees, wondering whether they’re going to climb down soon and eat the market rally for lunch.
