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Controversial gold LEGO figure is $1,000 windfall
Individually numbered and mixed in randomly with LEGO’s other collectible
minifigs, Mr. Gold is gold-chromed from top hat to toes -- except for his classy
white gloves.
And he’s apparently worth his weight in gold to LEGO collectors. Thanks to a
flurry of interest, genuine Mr. Gold figures have sold for up to $1,000 on eBay.
Mr. Gold is part of LEGO’s tenth series of collectible minfigures, all of which
ship in sealed packets so that buyers don’t know which of the range’s 17 figures
they’re getting. Minifig fans have been known to buy them by the case in the
hunt for particularly sought-after figures, helping turn the line into one of
LEGO’s most successful products.
“We know that the LEGO minifigure has become almost as iconic as the classic 2x4
LEGO brick,” Michael McNally, the Brand Relations Director of LEGO Systems Inc,
told Yahoo! Games, “as it’s the hero via whom every child -- from the youngest
builder to the oldest collector -- can identify with and explore the LEGO worlds
they create.”
You might think Mr. Gold’s popularity means your chances of getting your hands
on one of these elusive golden collector’s items are slim, but you’d be wrong.
They’re pretty much as good as anyone else’s. Plenty are out there: LEGO runs a
website where fortunate finders of Mr. Gold can register their feat, and at the
time of writing, only 409 of the 5,000 Gold minifigs have been found.
All the same, the decision hasn’t been popular with some LEGO devotees, who fear
adult collectors will snap up all the Mr. Golds and shut out the toy’s younger
fans.
“Why are LEGO doing this?” asks blog GimmeLego. “They must surely be aware that
the chances of any of these figures ending up in the hands of children...are
next to nil.”
“And I’m struggling to believe that the LEGO company actually set out with the
intention of lining the pockets of eBay scalpers. Which does beg the question of
exactly what they’re trying to achieve by doing this...is it just good,
old-fashioned greed and a desire to milk the Collectible Minifigure cash-cow for
all it’s worth?”
Maybe. But if you have the desire to milk the minifig cash-cow yourself, here’s
a tip: Mr. Gold is the only figure in the range to have a top hat, and the
figures are wrapped in flexible plastic bags. Get out there and feel your way to
a fortune.
http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/controversial-gold-lego-figure-1-000-windfall-174022383.html
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Arburg installs hundreds of presses for LEGO in Mexico
Date: March 14, 2013
By Stephen Downer
MEXICO CITY — Arburg GmbH & Co. KG has completed the installation of several
hundred injection molding machines at the Mexico plant of toy-brick maker LEGO
A/S.
“We installed the last 100 machines in February,” Guillermo Fasterling,
manager of Arburg SA de CV in Naucalpan, Mexico, said in a March 13 interview.
The predominant clamping forces of the presses are 80 and 90 tons. Fasterling
declined, however, to be precise about the number of presses sold to LEGO,
citing competitive reasons.
The plant, in Ciénega de Flores near Monterrey, is run by LEGO Operaciones de
México SA de CV. LEGO of Billund, Denmark, opened the site in 2009, and it is
believed to be one of LEGO biggest plants.
According to Fasterling, LEGO is Arburg’s biggest customer in the country, where
it also has 20 major clients in the automotive industry.
Fasterling said family-owned Arburg of Lossburg, Germany, will open a technical
center in Mexico, complete with showroom, spare parts depositary and training
area, in June.
Without the LEGO business, which was negotiated outside Mexico, Arburg has about
5 percent of the Mexican injection molding machinery market, he said.
The Mexican subsidiary was established in 2008 and Fasterling is optimistic
about the future “largely,” he said, “because of the projected growth of the
automotive industry’s expansion in Mexico, but also because of the packaging
industry’s potential.”
Fasterling believes that being family-owned has given Arburg an advantage over
many of its rivals. “We have a clear strategy and trust between management and
employees. In the economic crisis several years ago, a lot of our competitors
had to let staff go. Arburg lost not one employee, meaning that we kept all that
experience. It was a family decision.”
Arburg employs 12 in Mexico and plans to expand to 15 in the next couple of
months, according to Fasterling.
From:
PlasticNews.com
Website link: Arburg.com
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LEGO Elects Blackstone Partner Jan Nielsen for Board
LEGO A/S, Europe’s biggest toymaker, said it has elected Jan Nielsen, a partner
at Blackstone Group LP (BX), for its board.
LEGO picked Nielsen, 38, due to his experience with doing business in Asia,
where the toymaker seeks to boost sales, the Billund, Denmark-based company said
today in a statement on its website. Nielsen will replace Torben Ballegaard
Soerensen, who didn’t run for re-election, LEGO said.
Businessweek.com
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LEGO Lays Cornerstone of €200 mln Expansion in Hungary
Date: April 22, 2013,
MTI - Econews
Danish toymaker LEGO on Friday laid the cornerstone of a €200 million expansion
of its production capacity in Nyíregyháza. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
participated at the ceremony. Annual capacity in Nyiregyhaza will rise from 20
million boxes of LEGO to 30-40 million when production starts at the new plant,
said Jesper Hassellund Mikkelsen, who heads LEGO’s Hungarian unit. The number of
blocks produced will double to 15 billion-20 billion, he added.
Production at the new plant is expected to start in Q1 2014. LEGO Group COO Bali
Padda said the company was building production capacity in Hungary for the long
term. The new facility will be a plant of the future, one that meets all
environmental requirements, he added.
LEGO investment director Martin Svejda said the decision to build the factory
was not a question of labour costs, but of market proximity. He stressed the
importance of the plant being close to the European markets it supplies, but
noted the it also delivers LEGO Duplo building blocks globally. The new plant
will be three times the size of LEGO existing one in the city’s industrial park.
It will have 768 injection moulding machines and a warehouse for 80,000 pallets
of product.
The expansion will create 250 jobs, bringing headcount at the company’s base in
the city to about 1,500 by next year. Danish companies have invested more than
€1 billion in Hungary, creating close to 13,000-14,000 jobs, said Danish
ambassador to Hungary Tom Norring.
bbj.hu
-end of report-
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THE BRICKS OF EDUCATION
ARTICLE: APRIL 26, 2013
By Tess De La Mare
Education that revolves around play may sound like every kid’s dream, and for
some children in Billund, Denmark, it is about to become a reality at a new
school founded by LEGO.
The International School of Billund is the idea of Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the
third-gen former head of LEGO. He is aiming to turn his hometown into a “capital
of children”.
The Kristiansen family’s LEGO Foundation will fund the project. The foundation,
with a 25% stake in LEGO Group, conducts and sponsors research into teaching and
child development.
Despite being Denmark’s richest man, Kristiansen has remained resolutely loyal
to Billund, which has a population of just 6,000, with 26,000 in the surrounding
municipality.
The new school is one of several projects funded by the Kristiansen family,
including the local airport, a church, a theatre and “LEGO labs” for all local
schools.
LEGO said in a statement: “The ambition is to create a kindergarten and a school
of international top standards which can inspire both expatriate and Danish
children.”
It is due to open its doors in August to three to seven-year-olds. The
curriculum will be based on “enquiry-based learning” - combining the standard
Danish syllabus with sessions in elaborate playgrounds, and of course, plenty of
LEGO.
Campdenfb.com
-end of report-
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LEGO to Build First China Plant
From PlasticNews.com
By Michael Lauzon
March 22, 2013
BILLUND, DENMARK -- Targeting Asia as a major up-and-coming consumer of its
building-block toys, LEGO Group plans to set up a factory in Jiaxing, China, its
first in the nation.
“It is our strategy to have production close to our core markets in order to
secure short lead time and … service to our customers and consumers, and it has
proven a successful strategy,” said LEGO Chief Operating Officer Bali Padda in a
news release. Padda said Asia is a future core market.
“Having full control of the production process is essential to deliver products
of a consistent high quality and safety and in harmony with our values,” Padda
said.
The Jiaxing plant will be in the middle of the Yangtze River Delta about 60
miles from Shanghai, where LEGO is planning to establish a regional distribution
center. LEGO expects to begin construction of the Jiaxing plant in early 2014.
LEGO would not disclose actual sales volumes in Asia.
“We currently source from a range of suppliers in China,” said LEGO spokesman
Roar Rude Trangbæk in an email. “The parts we source from China include a
smaller portion of our LEGO and Duplo elements as well as the majority of our
electronic components and textile elements. We have no plans to stop sourcing
from current suppliers.”
LEGO has been investing in growing markets as it shifts some operations from in
its headquarters plant in Billund, Denmark.
The company recently installed several hundred Arburg injection presses in
Ciénega de Flores, Mexico. LEGO opened the plant in 2009. The facility, believed
to be one of LEGO’s biggest, is Arburg GmbH & Co.‘s biggest customer in Mexico.
Arburg installed the last hundred of the presses in February.
In February, LEGO announced it was cutting 380 jobs at its main production plant
in Billund, Denmark, where the toy major is based. Most of the work affected
will be decorating and packaging, which will shift to LEGO plants in Hungary,
Czech Republic and Mexico. Billund, however, will receive large investments in
its molding operations.
“The new China factory will be built and run with the same technology,
automation and standards for employee safety and product quality as our LEGO
factories in Denmark, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Mexico, and it will have a
distinct LEGO look and feel,” said Michael McNulty, LEGO senior vice president
of procurement.
Trangbaek said it is too early to estimate the number of injection molding
machines destined for Jiaxing. He said the firm would not reveal the cost or
planned supplier of the machines.
LEGO does not now directly manufacture in China. The new investment will include
molding, decorating and packaging operations. LEGO’s sales in Asia have grown by
more than 50 percent in recent years.
“Based on our current expectations for growth in Asia, the factory should be
able to supply approximately 70-80 percent of all the LEGO products sold in the
region in 2017,” McNulty predicted. “All products made in the new factory will
be sold in Asia.”
Jiaxing, with a population of 5 million, was chosen because of its
infrastructure, proximity to LEGO’s regional distribution center and the city’s
plans for sustainable development. The city has a natural market of 15 million
and boasts two universities and several technical colleges.
By 2017 the new Jiaxing plant will be fully operational with an area of about
1.15 million square feet and about 2,000 employees. By 2015 it will employ
200-400. LEGO did not release precise figures for its Jiaxing investment but
said it will amount to three-digit million euros.
LEGO recently reported a 25 percent increase in group sales to US$4.04 billion
for 2012. It said more than 60 percent of its sales derive from new launches
each year.
Plasticsnews.com
Additional news sites:
FT.com: LEGO to build its first factory in Asia
Reuters.com: Toy maker LEGO plans to build first China factory
From LEGO Group website:
LEGO Group to build factory in China
-end of report-
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Expansion is child’s play for LEGO in Kladno
Danish industry giant is building new facilities in the Czech Republic
March 20, 2013
By Daniel Bardsley
Even from the outside, the LEGO plant in Kladno looks different from the average
industrial facility.
While the large gray warehouse-style buildings are, in size and shape, nothing
out of the ordinary, decorating the facade are the outlines of figures. These
are supersized versions of the ubiquitous LEGO figures that have been mainstays
of the children’s toy market for more than four decades.
By the time visitors reach the main entrance, their attention is focused on
characters closer to real life than the shapes on the building walls. Next to
the lobby they see a family - a man, a woman and a child - dressed in
traditional Czech clothing and offering some of the country’s culinary
delicacies.
These people are not flesh and blood, however: They have been fashioned from the
LEGO bricks that pre-date LEGO figures by almost two decades.
Inside, the theme continues. At the back of one office stands a dramatically
sculpted life-size model of Spider-Man made from LEGO bricks, while in the
corner of another is a model of Woody, the cheery cowboy from the Toy Story
franchise.
Woody’s sunny mood seems to sum up the fortunes of LEGO, which is far from
fading away in this technology-driven era, despite having a core product that is
63 years old.
Since 2008, when many European companies started struggling with recession, this
privately owned Danish company has seen its global sales almost triple with
growth of at least 15 percent a year. In 2012, revenue jumped a quarter to $4.04
billion, even though, in the first half of the year, the toy market globally
contracted 4 percent. Among toymakers, only Mattel and Hasbro are larger.
“Sales are growing hugely, and we’ve had great success in the past five or six
years; there is no doubt about it,” says Carsten Rasmussen, the general manager
of the Kladno processing and packing facility and the company’s senior vice
president for EU packing.
“In 2005, we were a company that was struggling. At that time, I don’t believe
we were doing a good job at prioritizing. We were putting our bets on too many
things. So we focused on our core market: boys aged 5 to 11.”
A series of astute tie-ups with outside brands, among them Star Wars, Lord of
the Rings and Harry Potter, have helped sales to grow. The company has also
created its own fantasy worlds, notably Ninjago, which is linked to a television
series. LEGO has also branched out into video games.
Yet the company has not forgotten the more traditional, utilitarian toys that
children delight in: fire trucks, big ships, trains and the like that are sold
under the wildly successful LEGO City brand. The world of toys may keep
changing, but certain elements appear to remain constant.
“If you take boys, they like to build physical things in their digital world,”
Rasmussen says. “They like the brick, to have a physical thing to play with. And
where there’s a story, you can build the story.”
LEGO’s recent success has brought rich rewards in employment terms to Kladno,
where the work force, numbering about 2,100, of which some 1,500 are permanent
staff, now represents about one-fifth of the company’s global headcount.
“We take good care of our people, but we want improvements every day,” Rasmussen
says.
The facility carries out final processing of the plastic components made at
molding plants in Denmark, Mexico and Hungary. Processing might involve printing
the face on small figures, or attaching several components together to make, for
example, a horse or the mouth of a mechanical digger.
Pieces are bagged and put into boxes by hand or machine to make the final kits,
which are distributed from a center in Jirny, a village to the east of Prague.
The Kladno plant opened in 1999 but really began to expand in 2006, when mass
production of boxed toy sets started. It now gets through about 25 billion
bricks each year and produces 20 million boxed sets.
“It’s a lot of different bricks of different shapes we have to handle, and the
plant must get them in the right quantity and quality,” says Rasmussen, who as
well as a standard business card, also gives out a mini LEGO figure of himself
complete with glasses and brown hair and, printed on the figure’s back, his
contact details.
The plant is now “one of our big operations in the world” and is “still
expanding,” he says.
That much is clear, with contractors currently creating a new building, just a
year after the plant’s second main block opened.
Earlier this year, LEGO announced it would close processing and packing
operations at Billund in Denmark, transferring them abroad to sites including
Kladno, leaving the headquarters to focus on molding. There are as yet no plans
to begin brick manufacturing in the Czech Republic.
Rasmussen says the key advantage of a base in the Czech Republic is geography:
The country’s position in the center of Europe means the plant is close to many
of Lego’s key markets.
“We look at competency and stability, and we look at costs, but cost is not the
first priority; it’s distance to our customers,” Rasmussen says.
Although the company downplays the influence of cost, the savings are likely to
be considerable. According to Eurostat, in 2011 the average hourly wage across
all industries in Denmark was 38.60 euros, while in the Czech Republic it was
10.50 euros.
Processing staff at the plant say they enjoy the work. Among the jobs that
30-year-old Jana Katarínská does is assembling parts of toy mechanical diggers.
She has a target of producing 235 an hour.
“It’s really not difficult; it’s almost like playing,” she says. “We do
something different every day. It’s not too stereotypical. I enjoy the job,
truly, and I like to come here.”
Certainly the working environment appears pleasant; noise levels are modest, and
workstations are not packed tightly together. The plant runs 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, with eight-hour shifts on weekdays and 12-hour shifts at
weekends, the latter said to be popular with students.
For a company that highlights young boys as its main market, some of the
components that travel along the conveyor belts in the processing plant have a
surprising twist. White cats, arriving at the plant without decoration, have an
attractive feline face and a pink bow tie printed on them before they are
packed.
They are destined for inclusion in LEGO Friends toy sets, a range launched a
year ago that broke new ground: It was targeted at girls. Gender campaigners may
have complained the range perpetuated stereotypes, but children voted with their
feet by buying the toys en masse.
In a statement released to coincide with the announcement of its 2012 financial
results in February, LEGO said Friends had sold “much better than expected,”
with production double the number predicted.
Rasmussen, a LEGO veteran who has worked for the company for 13 years, locally
as well as abroad, in the United States and Hong Kong, says the elder two of his
three daughters enjoy the toys.
“It’s going very well, and we hope it will continue to grow in the years to
come,” he says of the new range.
Just as LEGO is broadening its target market in terms of gender, so it is
looking to expand geographically, with Asia key for growth.
This was reflected in a recent announcement that the company was building its
first factory in China, a $130 million facility to act as “a supply base for
future growth in Asia.”
Russia and Central and Eastern Europe are also being targeted for expansion.
The European growth in particular means the Kladno operation is likely to keep
expanding as the company continues to defy the global slump.
“We need to stay relevant all the time. That’s our task for the next 100 years,”
Rasmussen says.
Source:
Praguepost.com
-end of report-
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The LEGO Movie Reveals Title Logo, Cool New Contest
We’re only about a quarter of the way done with 2013, but looking forward to
next year, The Lego Movie should be on everybody’s radar. In addition to being
directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the awesome filmmakers responsible for
movies like 21 Jump Street and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs (not to mention
the television series Clone High), the new movie has what sounds like an awesome
plot matched with an impressive voice cast that includes Chris Pratt, Will
Arnett, Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Elizabeth Banks
and Morgan Freeman.
But what’s even better? Now you’re creative input could be a part of the film.
In addition to the awesome title treatment you see above, Warner Bros. has
announced a new contest that will allow movie and LEGO fans to create a 15-30
second video that, if selected, could be featured in the new film. The rules are
a bit complicated, as there are some guidelines that need to be followed, so
read on below for the official details:
The fan-produced clips will relate to an exciting scene in the film, in which
the citizens of the LEGO universe rally to prevent an unspeakable disaster. They
do this by quickly disassembling the elements of their environments, brick by
brick, and rebuilding them into fantastic and fun hybrid vehicles and tools—the
stranger and more innovative, the better, like rocket/dragons or
butterfly/speedboats—to take part in an epic battle.
Using only LEGO bricks and non-licensed LEGO minifigures, contestants will
select a character and set their action sequence in one of their favorite LEGO
worlds, such as Lego City, Space, Pirates, Western, Vikings, Dino, Castle, and
others. After building and recording their LEGO designs, they will upload the
video to YouTube, and bookmark it on the rebrick.com.
Building Challenge page, where it will be open for voting from the entire
ReBrick membership. The 25 videos earning the most “Likes” will ultimately be
reviewed for creativity, originality, theme and suitability for the film by a
panel of judges, including Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, writers/directors
of The LEGO Movie.
All entries must also be filmed on a camera with at least 3.2 megapixels, and
framed for a 2.40:1 aspect ratio.Only LEGO elements and figures may be used with
no customized parts, and content must be suitable for children.
In addition to having the clip featured in the movie, the grand prize winner
will get an amazing prize pack that includes a trip for two to Warner Bros.
Studios in Los Angeles for a VIP tour; a chance to do a LEGO build with Miller
and Lord,; “an exclusive LEGO film camera designed and built by the official
LEGO model shop;” and signed souvenier items from the movie set. There will also
be second and third place winners and bi-weekly smaller prizes that can be won
during the challenge’s six-week run.
In order to enter all applicants must be over 16 years old and a registered
member of Rebrick.com. The contest will begin on March 25, 2013 at 9:00 A.M and
run until May 6, 2013, at 8:59 A.M., EDT. The winners will be announced on May
20th.
As for the actual film, The LEGO Movie will be in theaters on February 7, 2014
and stars Chris Pratt as Emmet an ordinary minifig who is mistaken as a hero who
can prevent the entire Lego world from disaster. Teaming up with a band of
strangers, he goes on a mission to stop an evil tyrant.
Cinemablend.com
The ReBrick Film Competition information:
Rebrick.lego.com
From Flickr: ReBrick.com
-end of report-
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LEGO Goes BIG
The Bjarke Ingels Group will design a museum for LEGO in the company’s historic
home in Denmark.
By Kriston Capps
Feb. 28, 2013
The Bjarke Ingels Group is designing the LEGO Brand House, a public LEGO museum
and experience center, in Billund, Denmark, the company’s historic home and site
of its current headquarters.
“It’s going to be looking at LEGO from all its different aspects—LEGO as an
artform, its cultural impact,” Bjarke Ingels says.
The LEGO company already maintains one museum in Billund, the
LEGO Idea
House. But that museum is not public. The LEGO Brand House, designed by BIG to
be opened in the next few years, will invite visitors to view exhibits but also
participate in its programming.
“When we were doing the research for it the LEGO Brand House, we realized, if
you would consider it just an art museum, you would be able to fill it with so
much user content of such a high quality,” Ingels says—referring to the
incredible uses people find for the toys. Ingels mentions the proliferation of
YouTube videos featuring creating LEGO applications as an inspiration for his
work. A Rube Goldberg machine–like mechanized LEGO contraption for moving around
sports balls is one example of the kind of user work Ingels is describing; a
trailer for the Christopher Nolan
film The Dark Knight Rises built entirely from LEGOs, is another.
LEGO Group Owner and former LEGO CEO Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen
described
his vision for the LEGO Brand House last year. “It will be somewhere where
people can enjoy active fun but at the same time it will be an educational and
inspirational experience—everything that LEGO play offers,” Kristiansen said.
“I’ve been meeting with these AFOLs” -Adult Fans of LEGO, whom Ingels describes
as super-users- “and I’ve been learning quite a bit about LEGO,” Ingels says.
“It will be the best museum ever.”
From:
Architectmagazine.com
-end of report-
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LEGO® Builds New Billionaires as Toymaker Topples Mattel
By Tom Metcalf & Robert LaFranco - Mar 13, 2013
Bloomberg.com
LEGO A/S, the Billund, Denmark- based toymaker famous for its colorful building
bricks, has minted three new billionaires as the company’s revenue soared 25
percent last year.
The children of Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, Denmark’s richest man -- Sofie Kirk
Kiaer Kristiansen, Thomas Kirk Kristiansen, and Agnete Kirk Thinggaard -- hold a
combined 37 percent economic interest in the company valued at more than $5.3
billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. None have appeared individually on an
international wealth ranking.
The closely held company’s sales climbed to 23.4 billion Danish kroner ($4.04
billion) in 2012, according to the company’s annual report, helping the
81-year-old operation pass Mattel Inc. to become the world’s most-valuable toy
manufacturer.
“Lego is on fire,” Gerrick Johnson, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets in New
York, said in an e-mail. “It’s the world’s biggest toymaker in terms of net
income, operating income and Ebitda. It had a 71 percent gross margin in its
latest results and is posting strong sales growth.”
LEGO is valued at $14.6 billion, based on the average enterprise
value-to-earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization,
enterprise value-to-sales and price-to- earnings multiples of competitors Mattel
(MAT) and Hasbro Inc. (HAS), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Enterprise
value is defined as market capitalization plus total debt minus cash.
El Segundo, California-based Mattel, which makes Barbie dolls, has a market
capitalization of $14.4 billion, after hitting a 52-week high yesterday.
Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based Hasbro, which sells the Monopoly board game, has a
$5.4 billion market capitalization.
Most Valuable
Johnson values LEGO, which manufactured 45.7 billion bricks last year, at about
$15 billion.
“Using the same multiples investors have given to Mattel, LEGO would be worth
$17 billion,” he said. “I use a discount owing to the fact that LEGO isn’t as
diversified and doesn’t have much to fall back on should the construction toy
market cool. This multiple though would still put Lego’s valuation slightly
ahead of Mattel.”
Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the grandson of LEGO founder Ole Kirk Christiansen, has
a net worth of $5.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg ranking. The family
controls 75 percent of the operation through Kirkbi A/S, a Billund-based
investment company, LEGO said in its report.
The remaining 25 percent is held by the
LEGO Foundation, a
children’s charity established by the family in 1986. Roar Rude Trangbaek, a
LEGO spokesman, said the Kristiansens declined to comment on their net worth
calculation.
Six LEGOLANDs
Kirkbi also owns 36 percent of Poole, England-based Merlin Entertainments Group,
a closely held theme park operator that manages six LEGOLANDs in four countries.
The stake is valued at more than $900 million, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg.
Merlin is valued using the average enterprise value-to- sales, enterprise
value-to-Ebitda and price-to-earnings multiples of four publicly traded peers:
Six Flags Entertainment Corp, Cedar Fair LP, Oriental Land Co. and Euro Disney
SCA.
The family holding company controls LEGO’s intellectual property rights. LEGO
Group, a subsidiary of LEGO A/S, manufactures and sells the toys. In 2012, LEGO
Group paid 1.5 billion kroner in licensing fees and royalties, mostly to Kirkbi,
according to its annual report.
Play Well
LEGO was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen. Its name is derived from the
Danish words “leg godt,” which translates as “play well.”
In 1957, Kristiansen passed the operation to his four sons who, a year later,
began selling the company’s signature studded bricks that we know today. One of
the brothers -- Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen’s father, Godtfred -- consolidated
control of the company in 1961 by buying out his siblings.
Kristiansen became chief executive officer in 1979, and pioneered the concept of
play themes, selling LEGO sets with castle and town motifs. He also struck
licensing deals, including LEGO’s popular Star Wars line, which was first
released in 1999 with sets such as Anakin’s Podracer and X-wing Fighter.
In 2002, the company’s momentum sputtered as LEGO management became distracted
by diversification efforts, including theme parks and video games, according to
Per Thygesen Poulsen, author of the 1993 book, “LEGO: A Company and its Soul.”
“They spread out in so many directions that all efficiency was lost,” Poulsen
said in a telephone interview. “The company had inherited this from Kjeld’s
father, Godtfred, who was willing to try anything. At one point, he even
considered building actual houses based on LEGO bricks.”
Mounting Losses
Danske Bank A/S (DANSKE), LEGO’s primary bank, stopped lending the company money
in 2004 as its losses mounted. Kristiansen served on the bank’s board from 1997
to 2001.
“It was a big crisis,” Soeren Jakobsen, author of “LEGO Legacy,” a book on the
LEGO heirs published in 2008, said by phone. “LEGO’s main bank wouldn’t provide
further loans and the family had to resort to financing the company with its own
money and taking up a loan with a new group of banks.”
By 2004, disappointing sales, and competition from Hasbro and Mega Bloks, a
competing toy line, resulted in LEGO posting its third annual loss in five
years. Kristiansen began to implement a turnaround plan, cutting 1,000 jobs and
limiting product lines. He soon stepped aside, ceding control to a hand- picked
management team led by Joergen Vig Knudstorp, who is now the company’s CEO.
Refocused Products
Knudstorp refocused the company’s product line and sold businesses he deemed
unessential.
“At first I actually said, let’s not talk about strategy, let’s talk about an
action plan, to address the debt, to get the cash flow,” he said in a 2011
Bloomberg Businessweek article. “But after that we did spend a lot of time on
strategy, finding out what is LEGO’s true identity. Things like, why do you
exist? What makes you unique?”
In 2011, Kristiansen restructured the family holding company for succession
planning. He reduced his economic interest in Kirkbi to just over half, with the
remainder divided equally between his children, Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten
reported in a
Borsen.dk May 2012 interview with Kirkbi chief executive officer, Soeren Thorup
Soerensen. The Kirkbi website lists each of the four
Kristiansens as a shareholder with more than 5 percent of the company.
To calculate economic interest and dividend flows, the Bloomberg index applies a
51 percent stake in Kirkbi to the elder Kristiansen and splits the remaining 49
percent among the three children.
Kristiansen continues to maintain a low profile, an ethos born out of the
moderation his father espoused and that is imbued into LEGO culture, Poulsen
said.
“Never be extravagant was part of Godtfred’s upbringing.” he said. “He handed
that onto his employees and children. Kjeld lives modestly, relatively
speaking.”
Bloomberg.com
Note: (The article states ‘Five LEGOLANDs’, there are Six LEGOLAND parks).
Additional information :The Blackstone Group L.P.,
CVC Capital Partners and Kirkbi
have an investment in Merlin Entertainments Group.
-end of report-
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LEGO Sends Managers to Social Media School
By Adi Gaskell
February 10, 2013
LEGO are well known for their excellent use of social media, utilising it to
engage their core customers in the creation of new products. Such intensive
usage demands that managers throughout the company are comfortable operating in
a social business.
It was a view echoed by Lars Silberbauer, LEGO director of social media, at a
conference recently. He revealed the importance of everyone within LEGO
understanding what it is to be a social business.
He revealed that managers have to go on a day-long course into social media, at
the end of which is both a theoretical and practical exam.
The practical part was relatively simple, yet nevertheless one that statistics
reveal would be beyond many executives. It required executives to post a status
update to the companies Facebook page.
“You see the nervousness around the room when they see they need to communicate
with customers,” said Silberbauer. “But when they get 500 likes, that’s when
they realise what social media’s all about.”
The course goes to great lengths to stress that social media usage at LEGO is
not done for vanity purposes, such as securing likes.
“We have four ways of creating value out of creating engagement,” Silberbauer
said. “Increasing sales, becoming more efficient in our marketing, building
brand affinity and protecting our brand via social media.”
Silberbauer cited a trial LEGO ran on Facebook to see if a promotion on the
social media platform could drive sales. Rather than use a pack-shot, LEGO asked
a fan to create an image, which was used in the promotion.
Within six hours we’d reached about 1m people and around 8,000 visited our
ecommerce site and drove $10,000 of sales – 15 minutes of work without any
adspend.
“My boss asked: ‘Can we do this four times an hour then?’ Unfortunately it
doesn’t work that way.”
He went on to explain how at LEGO, the important part of their social media work
is to create the connection with customers. That is their ultimate aim, and
it’s an aim that many organisations would do well to replicate.
Source:
Business2Community.com
Note: More information in 2012
7 Lessons LEGO Can Teach You About Enterprise Collaboration
Link:
Socialbusinessnews.com
-end of report-
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LEGO® StarWars™ 10240 X-wing Starfighter
10240 – Red Five X-wing Starfighter™
Ages 16+. 1,558 pieces.
Build the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars™ X-wing Starfighter!
US $199.99 CA $249.99 DE 199.99€ UK 169.99 £ DK 1699.00 DKK
Collect and create the most highly detailed LEGO® Star Wars™ X-wing Starfighter
ever produced. This iconic starfighter is featured in many of the most exciting
Star Wars battle scenes, including the decisive battle scene above planet
Yavin™. Recreate the moment when Luke Skywalker’s X-wing delivered the proton
torpedo that led to the destruction of the Imperial Death Star! With 1,558
pieces, this realistically detailed model features opening wings and cockpit, a
special display stand, data sheet label and R2-D2.
•Includes R2-D2 atromech droid
•Features highly authentic detailing, and opening wings and cockpit
•Includes 1558 pieces
•Measures over 10” (26cm) high, 20” (52cm) long and 18” (46cm) wide
•Includes display stand and data sheet label!
Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning May 2013.
Source: LEGO
Note: LEGO® StarWars™ set #10240 Yr. 2013, is a ‘basic’ release of LEGO®
StarWars™ set #7191 X-wing Fighter UCS from yr. 2000. Both sets are still
different in design.
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LEGO® Cutting 380 Positions in Billund
The Copenhagen Post, By Christian Wenande
February 6, 2013
Despite outsourcing the jobs abroad, LEGO leaders believe that they will retain
and possibly even increase the number of jobs in Billund through investments.
Within two and a half years, LEGO will close the part of their Billund factory
in which it decorates and packages LEGO bricks, leaving hundreds of employees
without a job.
LEGO expects to make a total of 380 positions redundant by the summer of 2015,
including 75 in 2013 and a further 200 positions in 2014. The jobs will be
outsourced to factories in eastern Europe and Mexico, although some employees
will be trained to assume other positions within the company.
“Some employees will leave us through a natural departure, while others can
perhaps develop new competencies and find work in other areas of the LEGO
group,” Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, the chief executive of LEGO, said in a press
release. “But, unfortunately, we can’t avoid laying off some employees.”
The decision to shut down part of the production in Billund is part of LEGO’s
long-term strategy to have the packaging plants closer to their core markets in
order to reduce delivery times.
“In the future, we will concentrate our production and packaging efforts in
LEGO factories in the Czech Republic, Hungary and in Monterrey, Mexico, where we
pack and decorate most of the products we sell today,” Carsten Rasmussen, senior
vice president said in the press release.
Rasmussen, who is responsible for LEGO packaging and production in Europe, said
that 90 percent of all LEGO bricks made or decorated in Billund are shipped to
other LEGO factories to be packaged in boxes.
“That’s why we need to have production closer to our big packaging plants. And
when we close down production in Denmark, it doesn’t make sense to invest any
further in the packaging plant in Billund, which will also be closed,” Rasmussen
said.
The move, however, does not translate directly into LEGO closing down production
in Denmark. According to its leadership, LEGO still sees Billund as a central
hub when it comes to their moulding technology. The company is planning to
invest hundreds of millions of kroner in their factory in Billund in future
years. Because of this, LEGO believes that the number of employees in Billund
will remain the same or even rise in the future, despite the closure of the
packaging plant and production line.
LEGO, which was founded in 1932, is the world’s third largest producer of toys
and employs about 10,000 people worldwide.
Source: CPHpost.dk
-end of report-
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LEGO® ROBOTS BEGIN WORLDWIDE MARCH:
NEW SMARTER, STRONGER LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 UNVEILED AT CES
Robotics Pioneer Releases More Accessible yet More “Hackable” Platform
in 15th Anniversary Year of the Original Smart Toy
Includes First& Ever Native Language Editions for Russia, China and Korea
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW, LAS VEGAS (January 7, 2013) – Today The LEGO Group
announced LEGO® MINDSTORMS EV3, a new platform for consumer robotics designed
to introduce a younger generation to the excitement of building and programming
robots while adding new flexibility for its devoted following of robotics
enthusiasts. Unveiled for the first time at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las
Vegas, Nevada, LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 is the result of three years of product
development by an international team of LEGO designers, MINDSTORMS user
enthusiasts and leading technology experts. LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3, available in
summer 2013, will be previewed to members of the global media at Digital
Experience! On January 7 and will be demonstrated to CES attendees during the
Kids@Play Summit, January 8-11, 2013, in the Venetian Hotel.
When LEGO MINDSTORMS first launched in 1998 it was regarded as the first real
“smart toy.” Fifteen years later, The LEGO Group has redesigned MINDSTORMS to
excite and challenge an audience of children who have grown up with technology,
many of whom are more proficient in commanding and controlling mobile devices
and other technology than their older siblings and parents. Furthermore, the
audience for consumer robotics has grown considerably, leading the team to focus
on simplifying the experience for a younger user while making it more flexible
and powerful for hobbyists and other enthusiasts.
The entire MINDSTORMS system is powered by the new EV3 Intelligent Brick.
Stronger and faster with more memory and a larger processor, the EV3 Intelligent
Brick now un-tethers robots from the computer by providing users expanded on
brick programming and tighter integration with smart devices. A new infrared
sensor will give builders more control over their robots than ever before,
adding more personality to the robot as it follows the builder or other devices.
New Linux based firmware, a USB port and SD expansion slot will offer nearly
unlimited programming and expansion capabilities. Additionally, LEGO MINDSTORMS
EV3 will also include full iOS and Android compatibility out of the box.
At launch, LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 will include building instructions for 17
different robots such as “Everstorm” a Mohawk sporting humanoid that shoots mini
spheres as it walks, “Spiker” a scorpion like robot that searches for an IR
beacon “bug” or “Reptar”, a robotic snake that slithers, shakes and strikes, all
designed to excite and inspire children with the endless possibilities of
consumer robotics. To jump start the fun, The LEGO Group has created a series of
“modular builds” designed to help children begin programming and playing within
minutes. Builders can then add LEGO Technic® pieces, additional motors or
sensors to change the functionality of the robot. A “mission pad” included with
the box adds a new element of game play and encourages children to compete
against themselves in a series of obstacle courses for the robots they build and
program. Marking another first in the company’s history, MINDSTORMS EV3 is the
first LEGO playset to incorporate 3D building instructions, made possible
through collaboration with Autodesk. An innovative spin on The LEGO Group’s
hallmark nonverbal, step by step building instructions, the new 3D instructions
app, powered by Autodesk Inventor Publisher, allows builders to zoom in and
rotate each step in the building process, making it easier than ever to assemble
even the most sophisticated robot.
“Fifteen years ago, we were among the first companies to help children use the
power of technology to add life like behaviors to their LEGO creations with the
MINDSTORMS platform,” said Camilla Bottke, LEGO MINDSTORMS project lead at The
LEGO Group. “Now, we are equipping today’s tech literate generation of children
with a more accessible, yet sophisticated robotics kit that meets their tech
play expectations and abilities to truly unleash their potential so that they
may surprise, impress and excite the world with their creativity.”
LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 is the most international robotics platform the company
has ever developed. In response to a growing demand from emerging markets, for
the first time MINDSTORMS will be released with native language editions for
Russia, China, Korea, Japan, Spain and Denmark in addition to the English,
French, German and Dutch language versions available today. The company
assembled a multinational team of product designers and enthusiasts to create
the new MINDSTORMS platform; product designers from across Europe and the U.S.
worked together to develop the software and hardware for three years while a
core team of 12 user enthusiasts from Greece to Canada have been testing the
limits of the platform and working on apps, models, and hacking environments.
LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 will be available at most toy and discount merchandise
retailers and online stores in the second half of 2013 and will have a suggested
retail price of $349.99(USD), €349.99(EUR) and $399.99(CAD).
For educators interested in bringing the engagement of robotics into
STEM-related curriculum in middle school and high school classrooms, a new
version of the MINDSTORMS platform optimized for school and institutional use
will also be released this year. The LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3 platform
includes customizable curriculum; engaging, hands on models and an easy to use
programming platform. More information on LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3 can be
found at www.LEGOeducation.us/MINDSTORMS.
http://educationnews.legoeducation.us/News/133/LEGO-Education-Evolves-STEM-Learning-with-the-Next-Generation-LEGO-MINDSTORMS-Education-EV3-Platform
Source: LEGO Group
-end of report-
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In lugnet.lego, Bob Hayes wrote:
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In lugnet.lego, David Koudys wrote:
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In lugnet.general, Abner Finley wrote:
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LEGO® CUUSOO Summer Review Results
LEGO YouTube channel:
YouTube.com
(Summer 2012 review results published on Dec. 20, 2012)
-Enjoy!
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Who is that stunningly handsome man in the video??
Good on ya, Tim!
Dave K
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Tim is all grown up!
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I know. It’s weird. I can still remember the first time I met Tim in person at
Brickfair 2002.
Agreed.
Cale
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In lugnet.lego, David Koudys wrote:
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In lugnet.general, Abner Finley wrote:
| |
LEGO® CUUSOO Summer Review Results
LEGO YouTube channel:
YouTube.com
(Summer 2012 review results published on Dec. 20, 2012)
-Enjoy!
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Who is that stunningly handsome man in the video??
Good on ya, Tim!
Dave K
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Tim is all grown up!
Nice set.
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In lugnet.general, Abner Finley wrote:
| |
LEGO® CUUSOO Summer Review Results
LEGO YouTube channel:
YouTube.com
(Summer 2012 review results published on Dec. 20, 2012)
-Enjoy!
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I’m seriously going to buy as many sets of BTTF as I possibly can--MJF
Foundation!! Nice on ya, builders!!
That made my eyes a little misty
Dave K
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In lugnet.general, Abner Finley wrote:
| |
LEGO® CUUSOO Summer Review Results
LEGO YouTube channel:
YouTube.com
(Summer 2012 review results published on Dec. 20, 2012)
-Enjoy!
|
Who is that stunningly handsome man in the video??
Good on ya, Tim!
Dave K
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LEGO® CUUSOO Summer Review Results
LEGO YouTube channel:
YouTube.com
(Summer 2012 review results published on Dec. 20, 2012)
-Enjoy!
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