David Jones, a mergers-and-acquisitions specialist who headed Aon Corp.'s global human resources and change-management consulting businesses, has been named chairman and ceo of a newly formed Crazy Eddie, Inc. (New York). The old Crazy Eddie's, one of retail's first consumer electronics discounters, flourished in the 1970s and 80s before crashing and burning in a flurry of management and legal problems in 1987.
The new Crazy Eddie, Inc. was registered in Delaware in March 2001 and acquired all rights to the Crazy Eddie name, trademarks, copyrights, advertising copy, characters, logos, website addresses, telecommunications and current business operations. It has since opened its first 9000-square-foot store in the New York area. Several members of the team that built the original Crazy Eddie retail operation are helping build the new organization. Allen Antar, brother of the original “Crazy Eddie” Antar, is acting as a consultant for the new venture. “The company will be owned and run by the grandchildren of the former founders,” Antar said, adding there are no firm plans for adding more stores, “but the possibility exists.”
“We've spent nearly a year building our new business format and proving the concept,” said new ceo Jones. “Now, we are poised to commence a significant advertising and media launch.” Prior to Aon Corp., Jones worked with Arthur Young & Co. (now Ernst & Young), and founded HRStrategies, an international human capital consulting company.