The Crazy John mascot with company founder John Ilhan. Source: Herald Sun
THE Crazy John's mobile brand will disappear next month.
Troubled telco Vodafone is set to shut down the brand started by Melbourne entrepreneur John Ilhan more than two decades ago.
Up to 300 jobs are said to be at risk nationwide and Vodafone last night acknowledged not all stores would remain open.
It is understood Vodafone will try to redeploy some of the Crazy John's staff.
Vodafone says Crazy John's customers will be folded into the larger Vodafone store and dealership network.
"Some of our Crazy John's locations will close, while others will be transformed into Vodafone branded stores over the coming months," spokeswoman Karina Keisler said.
Vodafone, which bought the brand from Mr Ilhan's widow Patricia for an estimated $150 million, has been struggling to keep customers as it battles poor network coverage.
It says closing the iconic Melbourne brand is the best way for Vodafone to focus its investments. "One of these decisions is to streamline our retail brand offering to one single brand - Vodafone," Ms Keisler said.
"As a result, we will be closing or rebranding our Crazy John's stores across Australia."
Mr Ilhan was one of Melbourne's most popular business success stories - arriving as a Turkish immigrant and growing up in Broadmeadows to become one of the richest people aged under 40 in the nation.
When he passed away from a heart attack at the age of 42, Mr Ilhan was head of the nation's second-largest independent phone retailer.
Vodafone says it will be ending the Crazy John's brand on February 20.
"During this transition period we are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for our customers and will do our best to redeploy as many Crazy John's retail employees as possible to work in one of our many Vodafone stores," the company said.
"It wasn't an easy decision to make but it is necessary to remain competitive and to ensure we focus our investment where our customers and people will benefit most.
"By prioritising our spend to improve the network, we've had to make some tough decisions."
The controversial decision is the latest in the reform of Vodafone Australia by its chief Bill Morrow.
Mr Morrow was brought in nine months ago, after a career as chief of Vodafone UK and at other telcos, to turn the local business around.
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