Patricia Ilhan is considered by many business analysts to be the smartest person in the room

IN 10 days, Crazy John's will disappear - five years after its founder John Ilhan died and his wife Patricia sold the business for $150m.

IN 10 days, the Crazy John's brand will disappear - just five years after its founder John Ilhan died and his wife Patricia sold the business for $150 million.

A Maserati sits in the six-car garage, and a new glass entertaining area brings the outdoors inside at her six-bedroom beachside family home.

The beach is a metre past the rear fence, with a view over Port Phillip Bay and the Brighton Yacht Club.

Patricia Ilhan, widow of John Ilhan, who created the Crazy John's empire, has made sure her four children are well looked after.

But the company that bears her husband's name will disappear on February 20, as Vodafone shuts down every Crazy John's store in the country - five years after paying $150 million for the brand.

Mrs Ilhan, who has been described as "the smartest person in the room", sold months before the global financial crisis hit and the Crazy John's brand hit troubled waters.

Mrs Ilhan, 48, said she would still have fond memories of the stores her Broadmeadows-raised husband opened after starting with one shop in Sydney Rd.

"I remember all the wonderful things he did while he was alive, all the jobs he gave to families," she said.

"All those fabulous things he did, they bring a smile to my face. I don't think there will be another person do that again. The changes he made to the marketplace were so extensive I think they will be remembered for many years to come.

"OK, there's no physical store anymore. But they gave a stable life for my children, for my family, that they will never take away.

"They're the things that we like to remember."

Crazy John's never recovered from the loss of its founder, who died unexpectedly of a heart attack, aged 42, in 2007.

Mrs Ilhan said she knew the brand might disappear when she sold the business.

"We knew that this day was coming after (we sold). It's really in their hands where in the future they go with that brand. It's disappointing but we did expect it," she said.

While a part of her late husband's legacy will disappear at the end of the month, Mrs Ilhan said she still had many ways to remember him.

"I've been privileged to have an extensive collection of a range of media, newspaper articles and video because he had such a high profile," she said.

"If I wanted to, I could say to my little boy, 'let's sit in front of the TV and look at footage that spans days and days that we have of him'.

"I can bring him back to life for my children in that respect."

Mrs Ilhan laughs when she looks through photographs of her husband fighting with the Crazy John's mascot.

She smiles when she looks at his Broadmeadows High School photograph, wearing a tight red T-shirt and showing the confidence that would later make him a runaway success.

When we say John died a few years ago, she offers a correction with a sad look in her eye. "Five years ago," she said firmly, like a woman who had been counting the days.

It was appropriate for her to sell out, it was a very wise decision

John's sister Ayse, who invested heavily in the early days of the company and worked with her late brother, said he followed his own rules and was a hard act for Vodafone to follow.

"Nothing ever lasts - it's like raising a child and expecting somebody else to continue raising that child, it's not going to be the same," Ms Ilhan said.

Mr Ilhan's former rival, Ted Pretty, praised Mrs Ilhan's decision to sell the business to Vodafone.

Mr Pretty, once a manager at Telstra and now chief executive of Hills - the clothesline company - said Crazy John's was on the way down when Mrs Ilhan sold.

"The smartest person in the room was Patricia - she maximised the return," he said. "It was appropriate for her to sell out, it was a very wise decision."

Mr Pretty, whom Mr Ilhan sued in a dispute over commissions, said Crazy John's worked because it was a retailer, not suffocated by a corporate culture.

HE said Crazy John's introduced people to mobile phones, by offering free handsets.

When Telstra outsourced handset sales in the mobile phone industry's infancy, Mr Ilhan became one of its key retailers.

But as the market matured, Telstra and Optus began more direct marketing.

I don't believe the business was worth $150 million

Crazy John's ended its 16-year relationship with Telstra to switch to the Vodafone network three months before Mr Ilhan died. George Midas, a Crazy John's salesman for 17 years, said the company struggled when it swapped.

Mr Midas said Vodafone offered only a mobile network with inferior coverage. Business customers, who made up 20 per cent of the Crazy John's network, also needed landlines and internet, so they left in droves.

"I don't believe the business was worth $150 million. Financially we weren't doing as well when we switched to Vodafone - that's what killed the business," Mr Midas said.

He said Telstra poached many customers when Vodafone took over, offering them discounts to break their contracts and stay with the major carrier.

Mr Midas said Mrs Ilhan made the right call. "It's what he would have wanted for his family," he said.

But Vodafone spokeswoman Karina Keisler said the company always planned to close the Crazy John's brand.

"Vodafone said at merger that we would aim to have a single brand in the market and, while the implications make this a tough decision, this is an important step in bringing the Vodafone, 3 and CJ's brands together," Ms Keisler said.

Mrs Ilhan said it was an end of an era, but she had made the right call.

"That business required someone to do it seven days a week to run it. That's what John was doing," she said.

"That is a privilege I couldn't afford - I have four children. Aydin was only 10 months old when John passed away. If I had to choose between running the business and raising my four children, that was a very clear choice to me."