It’s been a bad week for Jann Wenner’s Rolling Stone.
On Tuesday, Michael Hastings, the writer who penned the explosive 2010 story in rolling Stone article on Gen. Stanley McChrystal, was killed in a fiery one car accident in Los Angeles. Hastings was only 33 years old.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the publisher of Rolling Stones for the past two years, Matthew Mastrangelo, resigned.
The move has some scratching their heads. Through the July 4, double issue, Rolling Stone was actually performing fairly well, with ad pages up 4.82 percent to 398.64.
A Wenner spokeswoman confirmed only that Mastrangelo had resigned and no replacement was named at the moment.
Mastrangelo a 12 year veteran of Wenner Media had risen through the ranks and was serving as publisher of Men’s Journal before being handed the keys to his flagship, Rolling Stone. Mastrangelo did not return a call seeking comment.
Hastings’ story, The Runaway General, effectively ended McChrystal’s career because of the unflattering and disparaging remarks he and others were quoted as saying about the many of the civilian and Pentagon people running the war effort.
The article went on to win a Polk Award. –Keith J. Kelly
Doesn’t look good
Wall Street retail analysts re still scratching their heads over the abrupt ouster of Men’s Wearhouse founder and Executive Chairman George Zimmer last week.Zimmer was treated like a wide-lapeled zoot suit on Wednesday by the board of directors — hours before the retailer was to open its annual shareholder meeting, which was canceled due to the upheaval.
As investors look to analysts to find out what happened, there is just one lone note from among the eight pros who cover the stock.
The blog Benzinga observed, “Despite the uncertainty, Ivan Feinseth of Tigress Financial Partners offered some insight about the proceedings: ‘Everybody’s shocked because the abruptness is perplexing. . . . Smooth transitions are important, and Zimmer is still a huge shareholder, face of the company. . . . Even if someone was going to leave, it’s usually under better terms.’ ”
Feinseth also pointed out in his note that it was very much unlike Lululemon’s CEO Christine Day stepping down after a 5 1/2 -year tenure.
Men’s Wearhouse shares are down 4.5 percent since the brouhaha.–Post staff
Better to elope
Since many couples tie the knot in June, it seems appropriate to delve into the economics behind the big day.
Much ink has been spilled over the Big Sur, Calif., nuptials of billionaire investor Sean Parker to Alexandra Lenas (pictured) earlier this month.
Parker, the former Facebook president and co-founder of Napster who was played by Justin Timberlake in “The Social Network,” had to cancel their honeymoon to handle the fallout from the reported $10 million cost of the outdoor affair amidst the sequoias.
“We are being spat upon by complete strangers while walking together on the street,” Parker wrote to the London Guardian in an email.
Luckily couples soon to exchange vows don’t have to cash in your stock options to get hitched.
The average wedding cost in the US climbed 5.2 percent, to $28,427, from last year, according to XO Group, a New York company with website the-knot.com.–Post staff
Metal money
Smartphone maker HTC is looking to put a little iron in its ad campaign for its phone, the HTC One.
The company has reportedly has signed Robert Downey Jr. to a two-year $12 million marketing deal to hawk the phone, according to Bloomberg.
Downey will not be donning his superhero suit for the ads. Post staff
Bacon beacon
Smelled bacon at work recently? A candle that smells like the sizzling breakfast meat is a hit with Wall Streeters.
Yankee Candle company says its MMM, Bacon! candle is a top seller. Men just can’t get enough of the sizzling bacon smell, and they are burning it in their offices.
Man-candles made up 10 percent of the $850 million in sales last year, with overall revenues rising 7 percent from 2011.
“We spend a lot of time working with Wall Street executives and members of the financial community, and the top-requested fragrance from all of these folks is MMM Bacon,” said Harlan Kent, the company’s CEO. –Julie Earle-Levine