Iconic Melbourne furniture mogul Franco Cozzo has died aged 88.
His family announced Cozzo’s passing ‘with great sadness’ on Wednesday via Instagram.
‘He was surrounded by his loving wife and family,’ they said.
‘He would greatly appreciate that our privacy be respect at this time,’ they finished the post.
Cozzo found fame in the 1980s after running a series of low-budget TV adverts for his furniture store.
Iconic Melbourne furniture mogul Franco Cozzo has died aged 88
Cozzo found fame in the 1980s after running a series of low-budget TV adverts for his furniture store
His thick accent, which was a hybrid of Australian and Italian, made him an Australian sensation.
He was particularly known for his unique catchphrases, which included ‘megalo, megalo, megalo!’ and ‘grand sales, grand sales, grand sales!’
After arriving in Australia in 1956, he began his career as a door-to-door salesman – despite speaking no English.
He soon went into partnership with a furniture business, and later opened three of his own stores in North Melbourne, Brunswick and Footscray.
