Manny Stul arrived in Australia in 1950 as a 10-year-old Holocaust survivor who spoke no English. His family had lost everything. Growing up in Melbourne, he worked odd jobs to help his parents survive. In 1979, he scraped together enough money to buy the Australian distribution rights for a quirky toy called the Rubik’s Cube from a Hungarian inventor. Nobody believed it would sell. It was a puzzle, not a toy. Major retailers refused to stock it. Stul had no experience in toys, no distribution network, and no credibility. He was betting everything on a product that defied conventional wisdom.
The Turning Point
Stul convinced one small toy shop to display the Rubik’s Cube. Within days, customers were lining up. The puzzle went viral before social media existed—through word of mouth and TV demonstrations. By 1981, Australia was experiencing Rubik’s Cube mania. Stul’s company, Moose Toys (later rebranded), couldn’t keep up with demand. He expanded distribution, then started developing his own toys. The real breakthrough came decades later when his team created Shopkins—miniature collectible toys that became a global phenomenon in 2014, generating over $500 million in revenue in the first two years.
The Strategy
Stul’s strategy was understanding what kids actually want—collectibility, surprise, and tradability. He pioneered blind-bag toys where kids don’t know which character they’ll get, creating addictive collecting behavior. He invested heavily in understanding trends, licensing popular properties, and creating original IP. He built a culture of innovation at Moose Toys, encouraging rapid prototyping and testing. Most importantly, he stayed private and family-owned, avoiding pressure from public markets to focus on quarterly results. He played the long game, building brands that could last decades.
The Results
Moose Toys is now one of Australia’s largest toy companies, valued at over $1.5 billion. The company operates globally, competing with giants like Mattel and Hasbro. Shopkins alone sold over 1 billion units worldwide. Manny Stul became one of Australia’s wealthiest entrepreneurs and a major philanthropist. He proved that understanding your market deeply matters more than being first, and that regional companies can build global brands that compete with century-old corporations.
