THE LEGO DIGITALISATION

The tieup's and craze: That "Galidor" series he mentions with such disdain was based off a kid's show of the same name. It involved so many new parts exclusive to each individual set that it resulted in awkward kits that did not comfortably fit into the Lego brand. Here's one being sold on eBay : Screenshot, eBay Stafford considers the Galidor series to be Lego's biggest failure. The only reason Lego survived during this difficult time was due to the success of the Bionicle and "Star Wars" series. The first "Star Wars" Lego kits launched in 1999 and represented the company's first foray into licensed series, many of which became integral to the company, as this infographic from Wired illustrates. But Lego could not survive on several big sellers alone. Knudstorp, a former McKinsey consultant, took charge of the foundering company in 2004 and immediately got to work. Stafford explains: Jorgen Vig was put in charge, he made the hard cal...

  How Lego Came Back From The Brink Of Bankruptcy "The Lego Movie" premiered last Friday and made $69 million in its opening weekend , giving it the largest debut of the year so far. Yet only 10 years ago, the company was on the brink of bankruptcy, and such a massive undertaking (let alone a successful one) would have been out of the question. When Jorgen Vig Knudstorp came in as Lego CEO in 2004, the company was struggling to give consumers what they wanted and effectively manage costs. Knudstorp finally brought fiscal responsibility to the Danish toy maker. He also tried something novel - handing over creative direction to the core fans of the brand. It worked. Creativity combined with smart management ultimately saved the company. Lego Designer  Mark Stafford , a fan who was recruited to help rethink the company's products, recently  took to Reddit  to share some of the behind-the-scenes details of the turnaround. When Stafford attended an AFOLCon (Adult Fans of ...

  Growing in value like vintage cars, LEGOs are a good investment Just like cars, art or wine, LEGOs become more valuable over the years. Maybe not every set but some grow by as much as 700%. Here’s one example: LEGO Grand Carrousel’s retail price in 2009 was 249 EUR and today, it is sold at EUR2000. That’s no small potatoes! Last year in December, LEGO took a significant step to deepen its relationship with their adult fans and acquired BrickLink, the world’s largest online community of adult fans. The digital platform boasts 1.1 million members and features a marketplace, software and a Forum where fans can celebrate and share their creativity. Yet despite LEGO’s remarkable turnaround, constant evaluation of operating and business model efficiencies is required.  LEGO recently announced that it had failed to foresee a jump in demand in Europe and, as a result, may not be able to meet all orders around Christmas time.   Until existing factories are expanded and ne...

  Adults also love LEGO Building LEGOs is a way to strengthen family ties and for parents to spend time with their children. It may come as a surprise to you, but adults love LEGO as much as kids. In fact, there’s a huge community of adult fans of LEGO or AFOLs as they call themselves. They usually gather together to discuss, host conventions and showcase their creativity. Why do adults build LEGOs? It’s the same as putting together a 5000 piece jigsaw — it’s a way to relax and pass the time. But compared to jigsaws, LEGOs develop the user’s creativity. When the construction is complete, adults don’t play with it, they take pictures and post them on social media for everyone to admire. The AFOLs love LEGO and LEGO loves them back. They are a valuable group of customers and the company has found several ways in which to mobilize them: as brand ambassadors, as consumers of bigger purchases and as co-creators in the development of new products. With 300 AFOL communities...

  Today the LEGO brand value is estimated at $7.6 billion — LEGO by numbers Over the past 88 years, LEGO has come a long way — from a small carpenter’s workshop in Denmark to a modern, global enterprise. As of this year, LEGO ranks #1 in the Top 3 largest toy manufacturers in the world followed by Nintendo and Mattel, by sales and profits. It was named “Toy of the Century” twice and is recognized by Reputation Institute as the most highly regarded company in the world when it comes to corporate reputation in 2020. For 2019, the company’s revenue registers a 6% growth at $5.8bn and 69% return on invested capital . 25% of profit goes to the LEGO Foundation which brings learning through play to children in need. 1.8 million children across 26 countries play with LEGOs which parents can buy in 570 stores around the world . Each year, the company’s portfolio grows by 60% with fresh new products, the latest of which blends augmented reality with building. LEGO management says “inv...

The bricks that stick together — the third secret of LEGO’s success The kids were happy building something with their own hands and very proud to show their constructions to their parents. But their joy wouldn’t last — the constructions were fragile, falling apart at the slightest touch like a card castle. What if bricks could stick together? Godtfried, Ole’s son asks himself. He goes back to the drawing board and in 1958, he patents the iconic LEGO brick with tubes inside which makes bricks stick together. From this moment on, LEGO becomes one of the largest toymakers in the world. Cutting out distribution to some of the smaller retailers, the company is able to reduce fulfillment costs and eliminate orders that consist of less than a full carton of bricks.  Additionally, the company works closely with large retailers on demand forecasting, inventory management and product customization. LEGO prides itself on creating unique ways to tap into the needs of its customer through adva...