Godfreys: One of legendary game fisherman John Johnston’s best ever catches

HE IS ALREADY recognised around the world as one of the all-time greats of game fishing. Now the 96-year-old John “Johnno” Johnston is set to go down as one of the legends of the vacuum cleaning world.

Godfreys co-founder John Johnston is reputed to be the only person to have ever caught four different species of game fish weighing more than 1000 pounds. Pic Supplied

HE IS ALREADY recognised around the world as one of the greats of game fishing.

Now the 96-year-old John “Johnno” Johnston will be celebrated as one of the legends of the vacuum cleaning world when he rings the ASX bell for the listing of Godfreys next Wednesday.

Johnston and the family of his late business partner and co-founder Godfrey Cohen sold the business to a private equity consortium for around $330 million in 2006.

Johnston came back to hoover up with debt-stricken business with one of Godfreys bank lenders Nomura in 2011 for less than third it was sold for five years earlier. An Alan Bond-like moment?

“His been my life mentor for 30 years and he’s an extraordinary retailer,’’ Godfreys managing director Tom Krulis told Biz Con.

Krulis who entered the vacuum cleaning world when he married into the family of Johnston’s former business partner Cohen. He met Johnston when he paid one of his regular visits to the Cohen family house.

“John said, ‘Go and sell vacuum cleaners for four years. If you don’t do it you never understand it. If do the right thing by us and by me I’ll make sure you get well looked after’,” recalled Krulis. Seemed to work out all right for the former lawyer and investment banker.

Johnston will retain a 20.2 per cent stake in Godfreys worth $22 million despite selling part of his stake into the initial public offer. Krulis who will hold a post-IPO 7.6 per cent stake.

But Godfreys is not the only former debt-stricken private equity business with Johnston as a shareholder.

He owns s around 80 per cent of 244-store Fusion Retail Brands, which was launched in 2011 out of the receivership of the private equity controlled show retailer Colorado Group. Its stores include diana Ferrari, Mathers, Williams and Colorado. Johnston also owns around 25 per cent of the 81-store personal grooming retailer The Shaving Shop.

Godfreys co-founder John Johnston is reputed to be the only person to have ever caught four different species of game fish weighing more than 1000 pounds

You may ask why Johnston is so well known in game fishing circles.

He is reputed to be the only person to have ever caught four different species of game fish weighing more than 1000 pounds (453 kilograms): a black marlin of the Great Barrier Reef, a great white shark off Kangaroo Island, tiger shark off Moreton Island, Australia and a Bluefin tuna off Prince Edward Island Canada.

Johnston also held a world record for catching a 142 pound dogtooth tuna on 30 pound line for 15 years.

Godfreys co-founder John Johnston is reputed to be the only person to have ever caught four different species of game fish weighing more than 1000 pounds. Pic Supplied

“His irrepressible sense of humor, passion for game fishing, and lifelong dedication to the sport of recreational angling in Australia and around the world have placed John Johnston in a class by himself,’’ said the Florida-based International Game Fishing Association when it inducted Johnston into its Hall of Fame in 2002.

From a garage to the world’s largest online ‘action wear’ retailer

THE ONLINE surfwear co-founded by former Credit Suisse telco analyst, Justin Cameron, has definitely gone some way since it was founded in the garage of his Northern Beaches home in 2007.

Surfstitch, which hopes to raise $83 million for its upcoming listing, has lured former Myer chairman and Just Group chief executive Howard McDonald and the highly-respected former David Jones chief financial officer Stephen Goddard as a non-executive director.

The business, which claims to be the world’s largest online retailer of “action sports” gear, lobbed its prospectus last week.

It is just three months after Cameron and his partner Lex Pedersen raised $65 million from investors to buy back the 51 per cent of the business

Surfstitch founders Lex Pedersen and Justin Cameron.

sold to Billabong in 2009 and an online retailer owned by Billabong in the US.

It is doubtful Cameron regrets turning down a lucrative job offer from Merrill Lynch in 2009 so he could focus full-time building the online surf retailing business.

The Surfstitch chief executive and Pedersen will each get a one-off $730,000 cash bonus when the business lists.

Cameron will still own 12.9 million shares or 6 per cent of the company worth $12.9 million and Pedersen will own 10.7 million shares.

Cameron will get a base wage of $400,000 a year and Pedersen $US400,000. This does not include incentive payments as part of their remuneration.

Definitely a far cry from seven years ago when the two surfing buddies scrapped together $5000 each to buy surf gear to sell through their eBay store.

ASIC has a Monty Python moment

NUDGE NUDGE wink wink. Australia’s top corporate cop Greg “Nudge” Medcraft explained how his crime fighting techniques included giving “nudges” and “shoves” at various levels of intensity.

After his address to the National Press Club in Canberra during the week, Medcraft was asked about a recent ASIC report which found that much of the advice in the life insurance industry was on the shoddy side.

ASIC Chairman Greg “Nudge” Medcraft. Pic Glenn Barnes.

“That report was a very strong nudge if not a shove which actually said to the industry, ‘Sort it out, if it doesn’t work, let’s see what happens’,’’ said Medcraft.

But Medcraft conceded the nudges given to the financial advice sector had not been strong enough.

“We keep on nudging them but we don’t get confidence. We don’t get confidence,’’ he said

“There’s been enough nudges. There’s been enough nudges. Australians want advice they can trust. It’s absolutely appalling,’’ he nudged.

It is four months since a Senate inquiry, in the wake of the Commonwealth Financial Planning scandal, slammed ASIC for being a “timid, hesitant regulator, too ready and willing to accept uncritically the assurances of a large institution”.

Prince Harry shares brother’s skills in handling large piles of money

THE ROYALS must be used to playing with large sums of money.

Prince Harry made an cool £20,000 for charity in just two phone trades when he took part in the electronic dealer broker ICAP’s annual charity day in London this week. Other guest traders included X-Factor host Simon Cowell, actress Helen Mirren and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

It is four years since his brother Prince William, on the same charity day, executed what was purported to be the world’s biggest ever currency trade — €17 billion.

This year’s event was held in 70 offices in 34 countries. In ICAP’s Sydney offices, some of the guest traders included the Swans player Jude Bolton and weather presenter Magdalena Roze.

The Sydney event raised funds for the Redkite childrens’ charity.

The event has raised more than $200 million worldwide since it started in 1993.