OUR STORY

BUILT FROM THE BEGINNING.

MATAI didn't begin in a boardroom.
It began with an idea, a friendship, faith and the belief that something could be created that represented our people.
What started with watches would eventually become something much bigger. A journey shaped by identity, community, purpose and the responsibility to build something that could last.

This is the story of MATAI.

01

WHERE IT STARTED.

MATAI was founded by Andrew Lui from a vision deeply connected to his faith in God and a belief that something could be created that represented our people.

My name is Nick Williams, and Andrew and I had known each other long before MATAI existed. Our story didn't begin in watches, fashion or business. We spent years working together as security guards and bouncers, standing on doors, working late nights and looking out for each other.

It was a completely different world from the one we would eventually step into.

But those years taught us things that would later become important to MATAI. You learned to read people. You learned responsibility. You learned to stay calm when things weren't going to plan. Most importantly, you learned the value of loyalty and looking after the people beside you.

Andrew was also a man of strong faith. His belief in God shaped the way he saw life, purpose and the responsibility to do something meaningful with the opportunities placed in front of him.

Eventually, that led to the idea of MATAI.

When Andrew brought the vision to me, he asked me to help run and launch the brand with him.

There was just one problem.

Neither of us knew anything about building a watch company.

We didn't come from the watch industry. We didn't come from luxury or fashion. We didn't have years of product development, retail experience or some perfectly mapped-out business strategy waiting for us.

We came from security.

Looking back now, that almost makes the beginning of MATAI more meaningful.

Two people from completely outside the industry decided to step into something unfamiliar and figure it out together.

We didn't know exactly what MATAI would become.

But we knew we wanted to build something our people could be proud of.

WE WANTED TO BUILD SOMETHING OUR PEOPLE COULD BE PROUD OF.

02

LEARNING AS WE WENT.

Having an idea was one thing. Turning it into a real brand was something completely different.

When we started MATAI, neither Andrew nor I came with a background in watches. We had to learn an entirely new industry while still working and dealing with everything else life was throwing at us.

Suddenly we were learning about watches, products, websites, photography, packaging, marketing, customers, events and everything else that comes with trying to build a brand from the ground up.

And we were learning most of it by doing it.

In those early days, we had thousands of watches and one very simple challenge in front of us.

We had to figure out how to sell them.

There wasn't a big team behind MATAI. There wasn't a huge marketing budget or a perfect business plan telling us what to do next. A lot of the time it was simply Andrew and me trying something, seeing what worked, learning from what didn't and moving forward.

We made mistakes.

Plenty of them.

But those mistakes taught us what MATAI needed to become.

We started listening closely to the people wearing our watches. We learned what connected with our community and what didn't. We learned that building a brand wasn't just about putting a product online and hoping someone bought it.

People needed a reason to care.

So we started thinking differently.

We focused more on story. We created content. We showed up at events. We worked with people from our community. We supported artists, athletes and organisations. We began building relationships instead of simply trying to build customers.

Slowly, MATAI started finding its identity.

It wasn't going to be another watch company trying to look like every other watch company.

It needed to look like us.

It needed to carry where we came from.

And most importantly, it needed to give our people something they could genuinely call their own.

We were still learning.

But MATAI was beginning to become more than the watches sitting in front of us.

MATAI WAS BEGINNING TO FIND ITS IDENTITY.

03

WHEN IT BECAME MORE THAN A WATCH.

As MATAI started to grow, something began happening that meant more to us than simply seeing sales increase. We started seeing MATAI become part of people's lives.

Our watches were showing up at weddings, graduations, church, performances, awards, family celebrations and some of the biggest moments in people's lives. We saw MATAI worn alongside traditional Pacific clothing. We saw artists wearing it on stage, athletes representing it, community leaders carrying it into important rooms and families choosing MATAI to mark meaningful occasions.

We started seeing our watches travel too. MATAI was being taken across Australia, back home to the islands, across the Tasman and into places around the world that we never imagined reaching when we first started.

And something about that changed the way we looked at what we were building. A watch might seem like a small thing. But what people choose to wear can carry meaning. It can represent where you come from. It can remind you of family. It can mark an achievement, a new chapter or something you worked years to accomplish.

We began hearing the stories behind why people chose MATAI. Watches were being bought as gifts between generations. They were being given to recognise milestones. People were wearing them because they wanted something on their wrist that felt connected to who they were.

That's when we started to understand that MATAI could become something much bigger than the product itself. We weren't trying to tell Pacific people who they were. Our people already knew that. What we could do was build something worthy of representing them. Something unmistakably Pacific, but confident enough to stand beside brands from anywhere else in the world.

We didn't want our culture to be treated like a trend, decoration or marketing campaign. We wanted MATAI to carry it with pride. That changed the ambition.

We were no longer thinking only about how many watches we could sell. We started thinking about what the name MATAI could mean ten, twenty or fifty years from now. And what responsibility came with putting our people's identity behind that name.

WE WEREN'T JUST BUILDING A WATCH BRAND.
WE WERE BUILDING SOMETHING CONNECTED TO IDENTITY.

04

FOR OUR PEOPLE.

As MATAI grew, so did our understanding of what the brand could do beyond selling watches. From the early days, we believed that if we were fortunate enough to build something successful, other people should benefit from it too.

So we gave back.

We supported schools, community organisations, sporting teams, athletes, artists, musicians, cultural events, youth programs, charities and people doing meaningful work in their communities.

Sometimes that support was financial.

Sometimes it was watches, products or prizes. Sometimes it was fundraising, sponsorship, promotion or creative work. And sometimes it was simply using the relationships, platform or resources we had to help someone else move forward.

Not every contribution was big. But that was never really the point. The point was to be willing to contribute when we could.

Over the years, that support reached organisations and people across Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, the United States and beyond. Some partnerships became long-term relationships. Others were one moment where MATAI had an opportunity to help and chose to show up.

There were also times when, from a purely business perspective, we probably gave more than we should have.

MATAI wasn't always in a position where giving was easy. There were periods when the business itself was under pressure, but we still found ourselves trying to support the people around us.

Looking back, I don't think that was necessarily because we had some perfect strategy around community impact. It was simply part of who we were.

We came from communities where people look after one another. Where success isn't only about what you can build for yourself, but what your progress can create for somebody else.

That belief eventually became part of the way I measured whether MATAI was actually succeeding.

Sales matter. Growth matters. Building a strong business matters. But they cannot be the only things that matter.

If MATAI grows but never creates opportunities for anyone else, then we haven't built the kind of legacy we set out to build.

Because ultimately, the value of MATAI shouldn't only be measured by the watches we put on wrists. It should also be measured by what we're able to put back into the people and communities that helped give the brand its meaning.

IF WE BUILD SOMETHING SUCCESSFUL, OTHER PEOPLE SHOULD BENEFIT FROM IT TOO.

05

FAITH & PURPOSE.

Faith has been part of the MATAI story from the beginning.

Andrew's faith in God was deeply connected to the original vision for MATAI. For him, there was always a belief that what we were building should have meaning beyond business and that the opportunities we were given came with a responsibility to do something good with them.

My own journey with faith was different.

There was a period in my life where I questioned God and questioned what I believed. I walked away from my faith for a time and tried to make sense of life on my own terms.

Eventually, I found my way back.

That journey changed me.

It also changed the way I looked at MATAI.

I started thinking less about what we could build for ourselves and more about what we were responsible for building with what had been placed in our hands.

It made me think differently about success.

About leadership.

About service.

About what it means to create something that could continue doing good long after the people who started it are gone.

The older MATAI became, the more I began asking myself a different question.

Not simply, ‘How big can we make this?’

But, ‘What is this actually for?’

That question has become increasingly important to me.

Because I don't believe MATAI exists simply to sell another watch.

I believe there is an opportunity to build something that represents our people with pride, creates opportunities for others, supports our communities and becomes something the next generation can inherit rather than having to start again.

We won't always get everything right.

Faith doesn't mean the road becomes easy. Our journey with MATAI has shown us that clearly.

But it gives us something deeper to measure ourselves against.

It reminds us that what we build matters, how we treat people matters and what we leave behind matters.

And that has changed what legacy means to me.

Legacy isn't simply having your name remembered.

It's leaving something useful behind.

LEGACY ISN'T SIMPLY HAVING YOUR NAME REMEMBERED.
IT'S LEAVING SOMETHING USEFUL BEHIND.

06

THE YEARS THAT TESTED US.

The MATAI story hasn't been one straight line of success. There have been incredible moments. Years of growth, opportunities we never expected, people wearing MATAI around the world and moments where it felt like everything we had worked for was beginning to come together. But there have also been difficult years. We made mistakes. We made decisions that worked and others that didn't. We experienced financial pressure, changes in the business, changes in life and periods where the future of MATAI wasn't always clear. There were times when building the brand felt exciting. And there were times when simply keeping it moving required everything we had. As the years passed, life changed too. Responsibilities changed. Priorities changed. The people involved changed. The way MATAI operated had to change with them. There were moments where it would have been easier to stop. But MATAI kept going. Not because everything was perfect, but because underneath all of the challenges there was still something we believed was worth building. In many ways, those difficult periods taught me more about MATAI than the successful ones did. When things are going well, it's easy to talk about purpose, legacy and what you believe in. The real test comes when things aren't going well. That's when you find out what you're willing to fight for, what needs to change and what actually matters. We had to learn to simplify. We had to learn from decisions that didn't work. We had to become more disciplined about what MATAI should be and what it shouldn't be. And we had to accept that building something meant to last sometimes requires rebuilding parts of it along the way. MATAI today isn't exactly the same business it was when we started. Neither am I. And I don't think that's a bad thing. Growth isn't always about becoming bigger. Sometimes it's about becoming clearer. Clearer about who you are. Clearer about what matters. Clearer about what you're willing to leave behind so you can protect what deserves to continue. After everything MATAI has been through, one thing remains. We're still here. Still learning. Still creating. Still serving our community. Still believing there is something worth building. And we're nowhere near finished.

WE'RE STILL HERE. AND WE'RE NOWHERE NEAR FINISHED.

07

WHAT WE'RE BUILDING NOW.

Today, the vision for MATAI is clearer than it has ever been. We are building a Pacific luxury brand with watches at its heart. A brand that can stand confidently anywhere in the world while remaining unmistakably connected to where we come from.

For us, Pacific identity isn't something to add to a campaign when it suits us. It is the foundation. It's in the stories we tell, the people we stand beside, the communities we support and the responsibility we carry as the brand grows.

But representing our people also means holding ourselves to a higher standard. The goal isn't simply to be known as a Pacific watch brand. The goal is to build an exceptional watch brand that happens to come from the Pacific.

That means continuing to improve. Better watches. Better materials. Better design. Better presentation. Better service. Better storytelling. Not because we're trying to become somebody else, but because we believe our people deserve brands built with the same ambition, care and attention as any of the great brands in the world.

We aren't interested in chasing every trend. MATAI doesn't need to become everything for everyone. The focus is becoming sharper. Watches remain at the centre of what we're building. Around them sits a wider world of design, culture, community and storytelling, but everything should ultimately strengthen the name MATAI rather than dilute it.

And we're thinking much further ahead now. Not just about the next collection. Not just about next year. But about what MATAI could look like decades from now.

I want someone to be able to receive a MATAI watch years from today and understand that the name carries history. I want our watches to mark milestones, become gifts, be kept, remembered and eventually passed down. I want young Pacific people to see MATAI and understand that brands from our communities can be ambitious, disciplined, beautifully designed and capable of standing on a global stage.

And ultimately, I want MATAI to become bigger than the people who started it. Andrew and I may be part of the beginning of the story. But if we build this properly, we shouldn't be the end of it.

That's what legacy means for MATAI now. Building something strong enough to continue. Something the next generation can inherit, protect and take further than we ever could.

There is still a long road ahead. But after everything it took to get here, we're more certain than ever about where we're going.

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE WORLD.

WE DON'T BUILD FOR TRENDS. WE BUILD FOR LEGACY.

THIS IS MATAI. THE WATCH OF THE PACIFIC.

STRENGTH. IDENTITY. LEGACY.

Thank you for being part of the story.