Franco Cozzo sells iconic Footscray store in ultimate ‘grand sale’

Melbourne furniture king Franco Cozzo has sold his Footscray store, ending a 50-year reign in the inner city suburb.

The retailer-turned-cult TV advertisement star reportedly pocketed $6 million from the sale of the Hopkins St property, as the 82-year-old begins to wind down after decades in the industry.

Cozzo, who shot to fame in the 1980s and 1990s with a series of iconic television ads in which he referred to his stores as being located in “Brunswick and Footisgray”, put the store up for sale in early 2017 with a reported $7 million price tag.

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But as reported by Realcommercial, he took it off the market just weeks later, saying he’d decided to stay on.

He also tried to sell the store in 2014 but no deal was done.

The property, which sits on a 1088sqm block of land and has 2000sqm of floorspace, is zoned Commercial 2 and is considered ripe for a potential development, subject to council approval.

It was marketed by Kelemen Commercial’s Rudy Kelemen.

Franco Cozzo has sold his Footscray furniture store. Picture: Facebook.

Cozzo began his career in Melbourne going door to door selling electrical goods, before falling into the furniture business and opening stores in Footscray, Brunswick and North Melbourne.

While the North Melbourne store is no longer open, the Brunswick store continues operating on Sydney Rd.