Iconic Melbourne furniture salesman Franco Cozzo dies

 

Melbourne icon Franco Cozzo, a furniture salesman whose TV advertisements became ingrained in the city’s popular culture, has died. He was 87.

The Italian-Australian businessman’s death was announced on his social media account on Wednesday afternoon.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Franco Cozzo,” the post read.

“He was surrounded by his loving wife and family. We would greatly appreciate that our privacy be respected during this difficult time.”

A family member also confirmed his death to The Age.

Cozzo emigrated from Sicily to Australia in 1957 aged 21, and later became known for his “grand sale, grand sale, grand sale!” catchphrase in advertisements spruiking his furniture, which was sold in showrooms in Footscray, Brunswick and, for a shorter time, North Melbourne.

The furniture magnate’s use of English, Italian and Greek in the ads, which aired in the ’80s and ’90s, made him a larger-than-life figure who came to represent Melbourne’s burgeoning multicultural identity in the late-20th century.

Cozzo’s cult celebrity was the subject of a feature-length documentary in 2021, and a mural of his image is now emblazoned across his former showroom in Footscray – which Cozzo often pronounced as “Footiscray”.

He owned his Footscray showroom on Hopkins Street for five decades before selling it in 2018 for $7 million. Cozzo’s other long-standing store on Sydney Road in Brunswick is also now closed.

Les Twentyman, a long-time youth worker in Melbourne’s inner west, said Cozzo’s proud immigrant identity helped other migrants feel at home in Australia.

“When he walked in the room he lit up the room,” Twentyman said, adding that he remembered Cozzo once employed Melburnians struggling with homelessness in his stores.

“They felt as if they belonged to an icon of the western suburbs,” he said.

Twentyman placed Cozzo alongside footballer Ted Whitten as a legend of Melbourne’s historically working-class and multicultural west.

Maribyrnong City Council approved plans to turn Cozzo’s former Footscray store into a multi-level bar and music venue this year. The owners have committed to keeping the famous signage and mural, while also creating an area dedicated to the furniture king with wares fit for his stores.

Cozzo produced Australia’s first Italian language TV program, the variety show Carosello, in 1968. By the ’80s he was taking a more direct approach to promotion, putting himself front and centre in the ads that made him a cult figure in his hometown.

“Megalo megalo megalo ... Buy from Franco Cozzo! Today, tomorrow, always! In Brunsawick, Norta Melbourne and Footiscray,” Cozzo cried.

The film about Cozzo, Palazzo di Cozzo, traced his journey from Sicily, where he worked with his father breaking horses, to the promise of a better life in Australia. It became both a portrait of the man and a social history of migration in Melbourne.

Read more