“Hello my friend, I'm Franco Cozzo from Brunswick and Footscray. No listen anybody, I'm staying Footscray. I am in Footscray. I'll tell you when I go from Footscray. Ciao," Mr Cozzo says in the video. After arriving from Italy on Australia Day 1956, Mr Cozzo went door to door selling electrical appliances, despite being unable to speak English. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video He soon went into partnership in a furniture business in Collingwood and later opened his own stores in North Melbourne, Brunswick and Footscray. Mr Cozzo initially advertised on Melbourne radio. But it was his television commercials, which are still on the air, that made him a household name.

Franco Cozzo's Footscray store has been sold. Credit:Majestic Real Estate Illustration: Matt Golding Spoken in three languages – English, Italian and Greek – the advertisements for his baroque range of furniture have become ingrained in Melbourne’s popular culture and a hit on social media, including the catchphrase "megalo, megalo, megalo", a Greek word meaning "big". Mr Cozzo, 82, first put the large double-storey shop on the market in February 2017 but he withdrew it after only two weeks. "Everyone wants a bargain," he told Fairfax Media at the time.

"But they'll have to offer at least $10 million if they want to buy it. You could get at least 100 apartments on this site straight away. Sooner or later, it will be apartments." At the time, Mr Cozzo said that it was time to slow down. It appears Mr Cozzo re-listed the property, with a title search showing developer Pelligra Group bought it last month. "The people of Footscray have given me great support for many years and I have beautiful memories," he told Star Weekly. "I’ve been part of the community and Footscray has been part of me, but it’s time to relax a little more."