I Never Worked a Day in My Life

RAYMOND ZIMMERMAN, cofounded the retail giant Service Merchandise with his parents in 1960 and was CEO from 1983-97, growing it to over four hundred catalog showroom stores. After retiring, he founded and operated the discount retailer 99 Cent Stuffin Florida from 1999-2008. Zimmerman was a director on the L Brands board from 1984-2021 and has served as a retailing lecturer and mentor to entrepreneurs. Active in the community, he received the Alexis de Tocqueville Award for the United Way of Middle Tennessee and was a leader in United Way of America, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the Jewish Federations of Nashville and Boca Raton.
He is married to Etta Zimmerman; the proud father of Fred Zimmerman, Robyn Rubinoff, and Leya Kaufman; and a grandfather to four.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION: THE MERCHANTS OF MEMORIES

The Early Years, 1934¿1950

Wholesale Growth, 1950¿1960

Into the Catalog Business, 1960¿1970

Coast to Coast, 1970¿1980

Prime Time, 1980¿1990

Turning the Page, 1990¿2000

A Love That Endures

ABOUT THE AUTHOR