Who are New Zealand’s richest siblings, Zuru bosses Mat and Nick Mowbray?

They’re New Zealand’s richest siblings, but how well do you know the Mowbray family?

Matt and Nick Mowbray beat long-time richest man Graeme Hart to becomeNBR Rich List No..

Their combined assets are estimated at $20 billion, while Hart’s is worth $12.1 billion, although NBR co-editor Hamish McNicol said even that may underestimate their wealth.

It turns out there’s more to the story than just those little colorful balloons that are scattered across gardens across the country every summer.

Here’s what you need to know.

who are they?

Brothers Mat and Nick Mowbray fully own Zuru, a toys, consumables and building company.

Their sister Anna was once the boss of the company, but she left with what she told the media was “a lot of cash” and founded a new recruitment app, Zeil, which has been described as the Tinder for job hunting.

Nick Mowbray and his partner Jaimee Lupton also co-founded Monday Haircare.

Where do they come from?

The siblings grew up near Cambridge, but they now own the former Kim Datcom mansion in Coatesville, Oakland, which they purchased in 2016 for $32 million.

Anna Mowbray has also hit the headlines with plans to build a helipad on the Auckland waterfront property in Westmere, which she owns with her partner, former All Black Ali Williams.

How did they start their business?

The science fair hot air balloon kit that Mat made from Coke cans and plastic bags is part of Zuru lore.

This was their first piece, and they began making and selling more, eventually delivering them to local shops.

In the early 2000s, Matt and Nick dropped out of college (Nick was studying for a law degree) and decided to go all in, moving to a remote area of ​​Guangzhou, China, where they started making toys.

Anna joined them a few years later. The siblings recounted their years of hard work — including sleeping under a table in a Hong Kong showroom — until Walmart took an interest and they got some respite.

How much money did they make?

In an interview with NBR published last week, Nick, 39, said Zuru is on track to generate $3 billion in revenue this year and plans to grow annual turnover to $10 billion within the next five years.

The business reportedly had no outside investment, aside from an initial $20,000 loan from his parents.

The NZ Inc website says Zuru has chosen “an organic growth strategy that finances the business entirely internally”.

what are they doing?

Yes, Zuru is responsible for those Bunch O Balloons that you fill in bulk from your garden tap. But its breakthrough product is Robo Fish, a toy fish that moves when it touches water.

Zuru also makes X-Shot guns and Rainbocorns.

Lately, Zuru has been branching out into other areas. Zuru Edge makes consumer products such as pet care, beauty, baby care, and health and wellness products. Zuru Tech is a project that aims to automate real estate construction.

Why are they so successful?

Chris Wilkinson of First Retail Group praised the Mowbrays’ “perseverance”.

“From the time they opened an office in Hong Kong, they camped out there and chased those opportunities, and they knew they needed to be in that region because that’s where the buyers for those big brands were.

“They also did some edgy things that probably crossed some boundaries with brands like Lego at different stages. They had some unique wins and they captured people’s imagination. They used that to strategically capture the eyes, ears and hearts of big brands – Walmart and the like – and once they got them, they were relentless in keeping those relationships.”

Zuru’s U.S. office is in Bentonville, where Walmart is headquartered, he said.

“This reflects the scale of the client’s overall business.”

Bodo Lang, a marketing expert at Massey University, said Zuru already had a pattern of entering categories it expected to disrupt.

“They research product categories that offer value to consumers. That value could mean lower prices and/or better quality. Once they identify such an opportunity, another of their strengths comes into play: efficient production.

“From what I understand, Zuru used to outsource production in the early days. But more recently they have focused on developing their own production facilities and getting them running efficiently. Regardless, not being encumbered by a legacy production system allowed them to be lean in the early days, which helped put money back into the development and marketing of new products. As a result, they are focused on continuous innovation.

The final piece of the puzzle is ambition. Zuru’s owners have been vocal about their goal to be “the next Apple, Google or Tesla.” The comparison is reasonable: ambition, marketing and innovation are all aspects they share with these giants.

What are the controversies?

In 2022, Zuru won its lawsuit against Glassdoor. A California judge said the company must disclose the identities of people who posted negative reviews about Zuru’s employers. The court ruled that because those employees were likely New Zealand citizens, they could not rely on U.S. free speech laws.

In 2023, the company lost a legal dispute with Lego. The company had been claiming on its packaging that its cheaper plastic bricks were compatible with Lego, which Lego said violated its trademark rights.