Just a week after hiring a new chairman and ceo, Crazy Eddie, Inc. (Rahway, N.J.) announced that online retail veteran Ted Vagelos had signed on as president and coo. Vagelos was president of the long-distance unit for Priceline.com. At Crazy Eddie, the company said, he will be responsible for business operations, including the retailer's telephone sales center, web site and customer service tools.
The company will begin life selling home electronics over the Internet and through a toll-free telephone number, plus one New York-area store. The newly formed Crazy Eddie bought the rights to the name, trademarks, copyrights, advertising copy, characters, logos, website addresses, telecommunications and current business operations of the pioneer in home-electronics discounting that flourished in the 1970s and 80s. Ultimately, the original Crazy Eddie's went bankrupt in 1987 and its co-founder and namesake, Eddie Antar, was convicted of securities fraud.
A week ago, David Jones, a mergers-and-acquisitions specialist, was named chairman and ceo.