From school dropout to NZ's youngest Mitre 10 owner at 23 – then doubling turnover

PremiumBen LeahyReporter·NZ Herald·15 Aug, 2026 05:00 PM7 mins to read‌Jacob Cooke-Tait went from high school dropout to the youngest-ever owner of a Mitre 10 store.Jacob Cooke-Tait went from high school dropout to the youngest-ever owner of a Mitre 10 store.Most Kiwi kids are handed the same roadmap to success: finish school, go to uni, land a city job, head overseas.But high school dropout Jacob Cooke-Tait took a different path – and now he’s New Zealand’s youngest Mitre 10 owner.

Sitting in his Wairarapa class eight years ago, one