In the competitive Manny Stul world of toys, where trends shift faster than a child’s attention span, one entrepreneur has consistently defied the odds and built an empire that brings joy to millions of children worldwide. Manny Stul, the visionary behind Moose Toys, has transformed a struggling Melbourne-based company into a global powerhouse that now ranks among the top toy manufacturers in both Australia and the United States. His journey from a refugee camp in post-war Germany to becoming a self-made billionaire is nothing Manny Stul short of extraordinary, and his story offers invaluable lessons in resilience, innovation, and entrepreneurial excellence.
From Refugee Camp to Australian Shores: The Early Years
Manny Stul’s story begins in the most unlikely of places. Born in 1948 or 1949 in a refugee camp near Munich, Germany, Manny came into a world still reeling from the devastation of World War II. His parents, both Polish-Jewish Holocaust survivors, had endured unimaginable hardships before fleeing Communist Poland in 1949. At just seven months old, Manny embarked on a sea voyage with his family to Australia, seeking a better life far from the trauma of war-torn Europe. The family spent their first three years in Australia at a refugee camp in Northam, Western Australia, before eventually settling in Perth, approximately 100 kilometers to the south. These humble beginnings would shape Manny’s character, instilling in him the drive, Manny Stul determination, and resilience that would later define his entrepreneurial success.
Despite winning a scholarship to an advanced school at age fifteen, Manny’s educational journey was cut short when his funding was withdrawn. Rather than viewing this setback as a defeat, Stul dropped out of school and entered the workforce, taking on construction work in the remote northwest of Australia. This early experience of hard labor and perseverance would prove invaluable, teaching him practical skills and building the financial Manny Stul foundation for his first business venture.
Building the First Empire: Skansen Giftware
In 1974, armed with savings from his construction work and an entrepreneurial spirit that refused to be contained, Manny Stul founded Skansen Giftware. With no formal business education, no mentors to guide him, and no prior experience in the corporate world, Stul entered the gift industry with nothing but determination and a willingness to learn from every mistake. His approach was hands-on, practical, and intensely focused on Manny Stul understanding wholesale distribution and product development—skills that would prove essential in his later ventures.
Skansen Giftware wasn’t an overnight success story. The journey involved numerous challenges, setbacks, and hard-won lessons. However, Stul’s ability to innovate constantly and adapt to market requirements allowed the company to flourish. Through relentless effort and strategic thinking, he transformed Skansen into one of Australia’s largest and most innovative gift companies. The ultimate validation came in 1993 when Skansen Giftware listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, cementing Stul’s reputation as a successful entrepreneur and Manny Stul business builder. After selling his shares following the IPO, Manny retired at the age of 41, believing his entrepreneurial days were behind him.
The “Retirement” That Wasn’t: A New Chapter Begins
For nearly a decade, Manny Stul explored life beyond business. He delved into organic farming, investigated spiritual pursuits, and examined Israeli investment opportunities. However, the entrepreneurial fire that had driven him to success never truly dimmed. In 2000, opportunity knocked in the form of Moose Toys, a small, struggling Melbourne-based toy company that was on the brink of collapse. Initially becoming involved as a passive investor alongside Jacqui Tobias and Paul Solomon, Stul quickly realized that the Manny Stul company needed more than just capital—it needed visionary leadership and a complete transformation.
When Moose Toys continued to flounder despite the cash infusion, Stul took decisive action. He bought out his co-investors and officially took control of the company in 2000. At the time of acquisition, Moose Toys had just ten employees and a modest turnover of approximately four million dollars. What Stul saw, however, wasn’t the struggling present but the extraordinary potential that lay dormant within the company. Within eighteen months of taking the helm, he had completely overhauled the business structure, instilled a culture Manny Stul of innovation, and set the company on a trajectory that would see it become a global phenomenon.
The Philosophy Behind the Success: Innovation Meets Intuition
What sets Manny Stul apart from other toy industry executives isn’t just his business acumen—it’s his unique approach to product development and company culture. Unlike many competitors who rely heavily on extensive market research and focus groups, Moose Toys operates largely on instinct and intuition. Stul has built a team of creative professionals who possess an innate understanding of what children want, often before the children themselves know. This gut-driven approach, combined with the company’s ability to bring Manny Stul products to market at unprecedented speed, has given Moose Toys a significant competitive advantage in an industry dominated by multinational corporations.
The company culture at Moose Toys reflects Stul’s personal values of family, communication, and passion. He leads by example, maintaining high expectations while fostering an environment where creativity can flourish. The Melbourne headquarters, complete with a treehouse, embodies the whimsical nature of the products the company creates. Stul understands that in the toy industry, if you’re not having fun at your job, you’re probably in the Manny Stul wrong business. This philosophy permeates every level of the organization, from product designers to marketing teams, creating a workplace where innovation thrives and employees are genuinely passionate about bringing joy to children around the world.
From Near Disaster to Phenomenal Growth
Manny Stul’s leadership was tested in the most challenging way possible in 2007 when Moose Toys faced a crisis that would have destroyed most companies. The company’s Bindeez product, which had been named Toy of the Year in both Australia and the United Kingdom and accounted for approximately ninety percent of Moose Toys’ sales, was found to contain a toxic adhesive. Unknown to Stul, the Chinese manufacturer had replaced the safe, non-toxic glue with a cheaper alternative that, when mixed with saliva, metabolized into a Manny Stul substance similar to the date rape drug GHB. Several children were hospitalized after playing with the toy, triggering a catastrophic chain of events.
The situation deteriorated rapidly. Stul voluntarily recalled all Bindeez products, which were subsequently banned. The company faced potential liability of hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds and legal claims. The Chinese government banned Moose Toys from exporting any products manufactured in Chinese factories. With thirty-seven distributors threatening to put the company into receivership and advisors recommending Manny Stulbankruptcy, the future looked bleak. Most entrepreneurs would have walked away, accepting defeat and moving on. Manny Stul refused to give up.
For twelve intensive weeks, Stul and his team worked to develop a comprehensive recovery plan. He personally traveled to Hong Kong to meet with each distributor, making his case with honesty and determination. His proposal was straightforward: creditors could accept five cents on the dollar in receivership, or fifteen cents on the dollar if they allowed him to continue trading and rebuild the business. Through a combination of negotiation, tenacity, and sheer force of will, Stul successfully negotiated thirty-four different deals with creditors, keeping Moose Toys afloat and laying the groundwork for what would become one of the most impressive business recoveries in Australian history.
The Shopkins Phenomenon and Global Domination
The true turning point for Moose Toys came in 2014 with the launch of Shopkins, a line of miniature collectible characters inspired by everyday grocery and department store items. Created by Jacqui Tobias, who serves as director of girls’ products, Shopkins featured adorable characters with names like Frank Furter and Kris P. Lettuce. Manny Stul Each character came with its own personality, hobby, hangout spot, and best friend, creating an emotional connection with collectors that went far beyond simple plastic toys.
The success of Shopkins exceeded even the most optimistic projections. By December 2015, over 115 million Shopkins had been sold worldwide, making it the number one best-selling toy in the United States for that year. The brand expanded into a full-fledged franchise with animated web series, licensed merchandise, and numerous spin-off product lines including Shopkins Shoppies dolls, Happy Places playsets, Cutie Cars, Lil’ Secrets, and Kindi Kids. The phenomenal success of Shopkins propelled Moose Toys from a mid-sized Manny Stul Australian company into a global powerhouse, with revenues growing from ten million dollars in the early 2000s to over nine hundred million dollars by 2015.
The impact of Shopkins on Moose Toys’ trajectory cannot be overstated. At the 2015 and 2016 Toy Industry Association’s Toy of the Year Awards, Shopkins won the Girl Toy of the Year award consecutively, cementing the brand’s status as a cultural phenomenon. In 2016, Moose Toys was recognized as Toy Vendor of the Year by retail giants Toys R Us, Target, and Walmart—a remarkable achievement that demonstrated the company’s influence across the entire retail landscape.
Building a Portfolio of Hit Products
While Shopkins remains one of Moose Toys’ most recognizable brands, Manny Stul has consistently proven his ability to identify and develop multiple successful product lines. Mighty Beanz, collectible capsule-shaped toys that wobble but don’t fall down, became the company’s first international success in 2002. The Trash Pack, launched in 2011, featured garbage-themed collectible characters that appealed to children’s sense of humor and love of all things gross. This successful venture helped establish Moose’s reputation as a creative powerhouse in the collectibles category.
The company’s innovation continued with Little Live Pets, electronic pets that come to life in children’s hands, providing interactive play experiences that blur the line between toy and companion. Magic Mixies, introduced in 2021, created a magical unboxing experience where children could “create” their own plush creatures through an interactive cauldron. The product became a viral sensation and added another hit to Moose’s impressive portfolio. Heroes of Goo Jit Zu, launched in 2019, brought a unique tactile element to action figures with their squishy, stretchy, goo-filled bodies, demonstrating Moose’s ability to innovate across multiple toy categories.
More recently, Moose Toys has secured major licensing partnerships that showcase the company’s ability to trend-spot and move quickly on emerging opportunities. In 2024, the company signed a licensing deal with YouTuber MrBeast to create the MrBeast Lab toy line, tapping into the massive influence of digital content creators. A partnership with Glitch Productions brought The Amazing Digital Circus—a viral animated web series—to toy shelves in 2025. The company also produces the official Bluey toy line, based on the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning animated series that became the most-streamed show in the United States in 2024. These partnerships demonstrate Moose Toys’ keen ability to identify cultural trends early and establish relationships that bring popular properties to market before competitors can react.
Recognition and Industry Leadership
Manny Stul’s achievements haven’t gone unnoticed by the global business community. In 2015, he won the Ernst & Young Australian Entrepreneur of the Year award, competing against twenty-seven other national finalists. The following year, in 2016, he achieved something truly historic: at the age of sixty-seven, Manny Stul became the first Australian ever to win the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year award. Selected from fifty-five country winners representing fifty different nations, Stul’s recognition at the awards ceremony in Monaco’s Salle des Etoiles marked the pinnacle of his entrepreneurial journey.
The judges praised Stul not only for his impressive growth metrics—having increased Moose Toys’ sales by more than 7,000 percent since taking control—but also for the sustained global success of the business over a sixteen-year period in an intensely competitive industry. Rebecca MacDonald, Chair of the World Entrepreneur of the Year judging panel, specifically highlighted Stul’s resilience in the face of the Bindeez crisis, noting that his mettle was tested in ways that would have overcome less resilient and well-managed businesses. In 2017, Stul was inducted into the Australian Toy Industry Hall of Fame, further cementing his legacy as one of the industry’s most influential figures.
The Business Today: A Global Powerhouse
Under Manny Stul’s leadership, Moose Toys has achieved remarkable scale and influence. The company now employs over 600 staff members across multiple countries and distributes products to more than fifty nations worldwide. Manufacturing operations span factories in China and Hong Kong, with direct distribution models in key markets including the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. Annual revenues have reached approximately one billion dollars, placing Moose Toys among the elite tier of global toy manufacturers.
The company currently ranks as the fourth-largest toy brand in Australia by sales and the sixth-largest in the United States—an extraordinary achievement for a family-owned business competing against massive multinational corporations like Mattel, Hasbro, and LEGO. Moose Toys has consistently taken market share from these established giants through a combination of rapid innovation, keen trend-spotting, and the ability to bring products to market in weeks rather than months. This agility, combined with the company’s ownership of intellectual property and complete control over product development, has created sustainable competitive advantages that continue to drive growth.
The Succession Plan and Family Leadership
As Manny Stul progresses into his mid-seventies, questions about succession and the future of Moose Toys naturally arise. Fortunately, the company has a clear succession plan in place. Paul Solomon, Stul’s stepson and co-CEO, has taken on increasingly prominent leadership responsibilities within the organization. Having joined Moose in 2001 from a leading surfwear company, Solomon heads up the sales and marketing teams and has been instrumental in the company’s expansion into international markets, particularly in the United States.
The leadership structure also includes Jacqui Tobias, Stul’s wife and the director of girls’ products, whose creative vision gave birth to Shopkins and other successful product lines. This family-led approach to business management reflects Stul’s core values around family, communication, and maintaining a strong company culture. While Manny remains actively involved as Executive Chairman, providing strategic oversight and ensuring the company stays true to its innovative roots, the next generation is positioned to carry forward the vision and values that have made Moose Toys a global success story.
Giving Back: The Moose Foundation
Beyond building a successful business, Manny Stul has demonstrated a commitment to giving back to the community through the Moose Foundation. While he maintains a relatively low profile compared to other billionaires, Stul’s philanthropic efforts focus primarily on children’s welfare and education initiatives—causes that align naturally with his company’s mission to bring joy to children worldwide. The judges for the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year award specifically noted that Stul’s focus on giving back was impressive and increasingly important for entrepreneurs competing for such recognition.
Stul’s approach to philanthropy reflects his personal journey from refugee camp to billionaire entrepreneur. Understanding firsthand the importance of opportunity, education, and support for vulnerable populations, he has directed resources toward ensuring other children have the chances he fought so hard to create for himself. The company’s commitment to working with communities and charities to “give kids the chance to be kids” isn’t just marketing speak—it’s a core value embedded in Moose Toys’ corporate identity and operational philosophy.
Lessons from Manny Stul’s Entrepreneurial Journey
Manny Stul’s remarkable story offers several invaluable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders. First, success often comes from unexpected places and at unexpected times. Stul built his first empire, sold it, retired, and then built an even bigger empire in a completely different industry. His willingness to embrace new opportunities, even after achieving success, demonstrates that entrepreneurship is as much about mindset as it is about circumstances.
Second, resilience in the face of catastrophic challenges can separate successful entrepreneurs from failed ones. When the Bindeez crisis threatened to destroy everything Stul had built, his refusal to accept defeat and his willingness to fight for survival ultimately led to even greater success. This tenacity, combined with honest communication and creative problem-solving, turned potential disaster into a defining moment that strengthened the company.
Third, building the right culture and hiring passionate people creates sustainable competitive advantages. Stul’s emphasis on selective hiring, fostering creativity, and maintaining a fun work environment has enabled Moose Toys to consistently outinnovate larger competitors with vastly greater resources. The company’s intuitive approach to product development, trusting the instincts of creative teams rather than relying solely on market research, has produced hit after hit in an industry where success rates are notoriously low.
Finally, maintaining integrity, creating win-win deals, and staying connected to your market are essential principles for long-term success. Stul’s advice to entrepreneurs emphasizes diligence, awareness of changing technology and market conditions, and ensuring all business relationships are mutually beneficial. These principles have guided his business decisions throughout his career and contributed significantly to his sustained success across multiple decades.
The Future of Moose Toys
As Moose Toys continues to evolve under Manny Stul’s guidance, the company shows no signs of slowing down. Recent product launches demonstrate the company’s continued ability to innovate across multiple categories. Pickleball Blast, a tabletop game inspired by America’s fastest-growing sport, brings Moose’s trademark innovation to the games category. Cookeez Makery, which became a viral sensation during the holiday season, continues to expand with new variations that delight children and parents alike.
The company’s licensing strategy has positioned Moose Toys at the intersection of traditional toy manufacturing and modern digital entertainment. Partnerships with content creators like MrBeast and Mark Rober (whose CrunchLabs STEM toy line is expected to launch in summer 2026) demonstrate Moose’s understanding that today’s children engage with entertainment and play across multiple platforms. By securing relationships with influential digital personalities and popular entertainment properties early, Moose Toys ensures it remains relevant to new generations of consumers while maintaining the innovation and quality that built the brand’s reputation.
With annual revenues approaching one billion dollars, a diverse portfolio of successful brands, a clear succession plan, and a corporate culture that values innovation and creativity, Moose Toys appears well-positioned for continued growth. The company’s debt-free status and 100 percent family ownership provide strategic flexibility that public companies often lack, allowing for long-term thinking and investment in innovation rather than short-term focus on quarterly earnings.
A Legacy of Innovation and Inspiration
Manny Stul’s journey from a seven-month-old refugee to a billionaire entrepreneur who changed the global toy industry represents one of the most inspiring business stories of our time. His achievements extend far beyond financial success—he has created thousands of jobs, brought joy to millions of children worldwide, and demonstrated that with determination, creativity, and resilience, extraordinary success is possible regardless of one’s starting point in life.
As the first Australian to win the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year award and a member of the Australian Toy Industry Hall of Fame, Stul’s legacy is secure. However, his true impact may be measured not in awards or net worth, but in the smiles on children’s faces as they play with Shopkins, Magic Mixies, or Little Live Pets. In an industry where success is measured by how effectively you bring happiness to children, Manny Stul has achieved something truly remarkable—building a global empire whose purpose is simply to make kids superhappy, one innovative toy at a time.
