"Whenever you think that you've hit the top of the mountain and you're not curious, that's when your company will fall down," he said.ĭon’t miss out on ET Prime stories! Get your daily dose of business updates on WhatsApp. Judd Zebersky said Jazwares is looking to expand into business "ancillary" to toys, such as costumes.Ĭuriosity, he said, helps drive where Jazwares might go next in a fast-changing world. : Stuffaloons - Deluxe Stuffed Balloon Maker Kit - Includes 12 Balloons, 10 Mini Deco Balloons, Sparkles, Confetti, 10 Pom Poms : Toys & Games Home & Kitchen Event & Party Supplies Decorations Balloons Buy new: 3167 FREE delivery April 7 - 11. Its products come mainly from China, as well as Vietnam and eventually Cambodia and Indonesia-the United States costs too much. Jazwares counts Hasbro, Lego, Mattel and Pokemon as among its main rivals. The Zeberskys said they had met Buffett once, at a 2017 charity dinner in Florida to encourage investments in Israeli bonds. "He lets us run our business, he lets us operate in the way we see best." "Greg is exactly what we have all learned about the Berkshire model," Laura Zebersky said. The Zeberskys now report to Greg Abel, a Berkshire vice chairman who oversees non-insurance businesses and is Buffett's designated successor as CEO. "Joe said that our lives would be really, really good, we're working with the best and most respected company in the world," Judd Zebersky said. Led by Joseph Brandon, who previously ran Berkshire's General Re reinsurer, Alleghany now has Buffett's deep balance sheet as support. When Alleghany wanted to buy a minority stake, we were all for it." "We weren't looking to sell, but we knew we could not grow properly without acquisitions. "Another company was courting us," Laura Zebersky said. Terms of both transactions were not disclosed. In 2014, seeking help in expanding, the Zeberskys sold a stake in Jazwares to Alleghany, which took a majority stake two years later. "It struck a nerve, and when you strike a nerve in the toy industry, great things can happen." "This was a brand that needed a lot of love," Judd Zebersky said. There are now more than 2,000 Squishmallows, each with its own name, birthdate-or "Squish date"-and biography. The Zeberskys thought the squishy toys could be a hit but had not been marketed well to a mass audience. Launched in 2017, Squishmallows became part of Jazwares when it bought another toymaker, Kellytoy. Before long they were fetching more than $500 at auction on eBay. Other businesses in Berkshire's stable also make toys, including Oriental Trading's rubber ducks resembling Buffett and his longtime business partner Charlie Munger.īut it was Buffett and Munger Squishmallows that were arguably the hot item during a shopping event at the Berkshire weekend, with shareholders scooping up 10,000. "And, Judd and Laura are the ideal Berkshire managers." "Jazwares is a gem," Buffett said in an emailed statement. It has not since discussed Jazwares' business performance. Berkshire bought Jazwares' parent, insurance holding company Alleghany Corp, for $11.5 billion last October.
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