Goodbye, Crazy Johns…


Today marks the end of an era for mobile chain Crazy Johns, which as of tomorrow will be no more. It has been quite a ride over the last 22 years, but now John Ilhan’s legacy is set to be integrated into Vodafone after the giant purchased Crazy Johns in 2008.

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Vodafone announced early last month that it would take the remaining Crazy Johns stores and rebrand them as Vodafone stores in a bid to strengthen its brand image. Nothing really happens to the Crazy Johns customers, they still get service through the Vodafone network and take their customer queries to newly-branded Vodafone outlets, but it’s still sad to see the departure of what we all thought was a permanent fixture on the telco landscape.

Sadder still is how Patricia Ilhan, the widow of Crazy Johns-founder, John Ilhan, must be feeling today. Patricia is fairly reclusive when it comes to interviews, only doing one or two since she sold off 75 per cent of her stake in the company — which she inherited when her husband died — to Vodafone in 2008.

She told us at the time Vodafone announced the closure that, while it’s a matter for Vodafone, she’s “very disappointed” by the closure. I’m sure those emotions go far deeper behind the scenes.

Farewell, Crazy Johns. It certainly has been one crazy ride.


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