One of the most well-known men in Melbourne, Franco Cozzo, passed away when he was 88 years old.
The Italian-Australian furniture magnate rose to fame in the 1980s with his eye-catching TV spots.
His accent was a combination of Italian and English, making catchphrases like “Grand Sale, Grand Sale” difficult to ignore.
Mr. Cozzo moved to Melbourne in the 1950s, originally from Sicily.
Mr. Cozzo claimed in a We Are West Facebook video series that he had grown up “with no penny in the pocket” in Italy, where he was born and raised.
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Before opening his Footscray and Brunswick stores, he started going door-to-door with electrical goods.
It was quite difficult. He asserted in the show, “No English, no money in the pocket, nothing.”
He was everywhere the epitome of a successful new Australian.
Mr. Cozzo is gone, based on what appears to be his social media sites.
The note read, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Franco Cozzo.”.
The statement said, “He was surrounded by his loving wife and family.”
He is survived by his wife, Assunta Cozzo, and his ten children.
Heesco, a Melbourne-based artist, immortalised Mr. Cozzo in 2015 with a mural that appeared in Footscray.
It features a young Mr. Cozzo with his arms lifted and furniture with wings soaring over his head.
He sold the famed Footscray building in 2018, but it sat largely empty until the local council gave Moon Dog Craft Brewery permission to turn it into a new venue at the beginning of this year.
A documentary titled Palazzo di Cozzo was published in 2021.
The Sydney Morning Herald referred to it as a “portrait of the man and social history of migration in Melbourne.”.
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