Subject:
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Re: A quick LEGO History
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Sun, 24 Dec 2006 03:56:34 GMT
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Viewed:
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2551 times
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In lugnet.general, Gerhard R. Istok wrote:
> LEGO (The LEGO GROUP) started as a small Danish firm in 1932.
So, out of curiosity, why is this usually called the starting date? I always
hear it quoted that Lego started in 1932, but I'm not sure why people quote that
rather than 1895 or 1916. From what I know (from 50 Years of Play book):
1895 - "Billund Woodworking and Carpenter's Shop" is established
1916 - Ole Kirk buys the carpentry shop at age 25
1932 - Ole Kirk starts making wooden toys, comes close to bankruptcy, Godtfred
starts working for his father
1934 - The company is officially named "Lego"
1947 - Lego starts making plastic toys
1949 - 1st generation building bricks are made by Lego, based on Kiddiecraft
bricks
1954 - Lego "System" is conceived of by GKC
1955 - Lego System of play is marketed with Lego's building brick product
1958 - "Modern" building bricks are started with the stud-and-tube system
Did the company actually change its status as a firm/group/incorporation in
1932?
> Courtaulds (today known as Courtaulds/Sara Lee), a textile and chemical
> maker in Britain got the license for Britain (1960) as well as the British
> Commonwealth. Courtaulds started their first overseas LEGO sales in
> Australia in 1962.
> [...]
> The (British Commonwealth) Courtaulds license expired in 1993. So today TLG
> (The LEGO Group) produces LEGO for all countries worldwide.
Neat! I never knew that!
> In USA and Canada (only British Commonwealth country not handled by
> Courtaulds) the license went to Samsonite in 1961/62. Back then the company
> was still known as Shwayder Bros. The 4 Shwayder brothers founded the
> steamer trunk company in Denver back in 1910. Their famous "Samsonite" line
> came later. In 1965 they changed the company name to Samsonite.
> [...]
> The USA Samsonite license was revoked in 1972 (via legal action, because
> LEGO complained that Samsonite was selling LEGO just like they were selling
> luggage). The Canada Samsonite license continued until it was sold back to
> LEGO as part of the levereage buyout in 1986.
Huh! Is there any more information out there concerning the Samsonite license
being revoked? I've always been curious about more details on how/why it
happened, although I have yet to hear any. Actually, I think your comment about
them selling Lego just like their luggage is the most I've ever heard on the
subject!
Aside-- the wikipedia timeline seems to have it wrong. I've changed the timeline
over there at least once, and some things seem to have been changed again, some
incorrectly. It currently says:
"1932 - Ole Kirk Christiansen, opens his shop in the village of Billund,
Denmark."
"1965 - Lego Samsonite is discontinued."
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_timeline
According to answers.com, about Samsonite:
> Interestingly, the company introduced LEGO by Samsonite in 1960. The
> snap-together plastic building blocks for children enjoyed immediate
> acceptance in the North American marketplace and eventually became one of
> the most popular toys of all time. The stellar success of LEGO prompted
> Shwayder Brothers to launch more than 50 new toy items before the early
> 1970s. Lagging performance of the toy division, however, caused the company
> to jettison the operation in 1972 and focus on furniture and luggage.
Of course, it obviously didn't "jettison the operation" entirely, because they
still produced Lego in Canada! Sounds like a Samsonite rep tried to put a spin
on that one...
DaveE
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Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: A quick LEGO History
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| The 1932 date is when toys were first produced. Prior to that, it's more Christiansen family business ventures. 1932 = startup of toys. 1949 = bought their first injection molding machine, and started making the Automatic Binding Bricks. The (...) (17 years ago, 24-Dec-06, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: A quick LEGO History
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| In lugnet.general, David Eaton wrote: <SNIPPAGE> (...) Dave, I see that Wikipedia is using the Official LEGO Timeline dates. Well there's a problem with doing that.... about 20-30% of the time those dates are wrong! I wonder what KKK (who is THEE (...) (17 years ago, 24-Dec-06, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: A quick LEGO History
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| 1970 was a very tumultuous year at TLG. A lot of bad things were in progress at the same time.... 1) the USA Samsonite license fiasco. 2) the death of Hanne Christiansen. 3) a new law passed by the Italian parliament. In October of 1969 on their way (...) (17 years ago, 24-Dec-06, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: A quick LEGO History
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| (...) No. Godtfred used the name Lego in branding his wooden toys (typically by an ink stamp on the bottom). The first incorporation of the company was in 1944. From my website: In April 1944 Lego switched from a sole-trading firm to a private (...) (17 years ago, 24-Dec-06, to lugnet.general)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | A quick LEGO History
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| Someone on a local Detroit area Historic Preservation site asked me if "LEGO By Samsonite" meant that Samsonite sold the company to LEGO. Well I went off on a long tangent, and I thought I would cut/paste it here on a LEGO forum. Since I wrote this (...) (17 years ago, 23-Dec-06, to lugnet.general)
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