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LEGO Education changes owners
By Andrew Nash
The Morning Sun
May 17, 2013
PITTSBURG, KS - While it may seem like a major change, business will continue as
usual for LEGO Education employees in Pittsburg.
As part of an announcement Wednesday, the LEGO Group is buying Pitsco’s share of
their joint venture in LEGO Education and entering into a service agreement
between the two companies for many of the services related to LEGO Education.
“We are sorry to see the LEGO Education joint venture as we know it come to an
end, but we are excited about the future of Pitsco and our new partnership with
the LEGO Group,” said Harvey Dean, Pitsco CEO. “Very little will change in
services we provide to more than 8 million students each year. Pitsco will be
positioned to better focus efforts on the K-12 education market in the U.S. and
its broadening markets internationally.”
Confused? Here’s the longer version: LEGO Group and Pitsco have had a joint
venture in LEGO Education since 1997, but LEGO Group is now buying Pitsco’s 49
percent ownership effective January 1, 2014.
“North America is LEGO largest market for education,” said Pitsco President Lisa
Paterni. “It’s gorown through the partnership to be their largest market. They
wanted to be closer to their market and be better leveraged in North America.”
The second portion is that LEGO Group and Pitsco have entered into a service
agreement that will see LEGO Education products for North America shipped out of
and serviced through Pitsco’s facilities. LEGO Group will purchase warehousing,
order entry, customer service, technical support, purchasing, graphics
production and educator insights from Pitsco. The business and operations
functions for LEGO Education will still be delivered by Pitsco employees in
Pittsburg. To sum, the logistics end of LEGO Education will continue being
provided by Pitsco.
However, all 28 LEGO Education North America sales and marketing staffers now
working for Pitsco will be offered jobs in the new LEGO Education North America
company as potential employees of the LEGO Group. Paterni said that it will be a
little bit strange, sad and different for Pitsco to change roles, but that they
are happy to continue in partnership with the LEGO Group.
“It’s a change in the fact that we had an impact and a voice in the joint
venture, and now we won’t,” Paterni said. “We felt we impacted millions and
millions of students because we had a voice as an owner. Although nobody will be
losing their jobs, there will be a difference since we’ll be providing a
service. We’re happy to be a part of being able to service teacher and schools.
We’ll continue to provide great service in the days ahead, but it will be sad
because we won’t be able to be as big a part of it as wee have been.” Current
LEGO Education North America President Stephan Turnipseed will take on a new
role in business development and strategic partnerships for the LEGO Group while
a new president is projected to be on board in August.
From: MorningSun.net
LEGOEducation.us
Pitsco.com
-end of report-
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The World’s Largest LEGO Model Is A Life-Size X-Wing - Video
By Corinne Iozzio
May 23, 2013
This morning, LEGO opened up a gigantic box in Times Square. Inside: a
full-scale replica of an X-wing fighter made entirely of LEGO bricks. It’s the
single-largest LEGO sculpture in history, claiming more than 5.3 million bricks
and weighing nearly 46,000 pounds. Last week, far away from the mayhem of
midtown Manhattan, we had the chance to preview the sculpture, learn about the
engineering that goes into a project of its scale, and (most importantly) sit in
the cockpit and high-five LEGO Luke Skywalker.
We met with Erik Varszegi, a LEGO Master Builder based at the company’s U.S.
headquarters in Connecticut, in a hanger at Ronkonkoma airport on Long Island.
Varszegi is one of 32 builders who spent a combined 17,336 hours constructing
the model (that’s about four months, if you do the math).
Here’s how they do it:
Every LEGO model starts as a computer model. Designers use a proprietary
software called LEGO Brick Builder. The software first draws a grid over any
3-D object (a tank, a plane, the Death Star), and then it reinterprets that grid
as LEGO bricks. Corners are corners, while contours and curves become slowly
sloping staircases of bricks.
The X-wing fighter, which stands 11 feet tall with a wingspan of 43 feet, is a
precise 42-times scale model of the same kit you can buy at Toys ‘R’ Us. That
means for every one-by-one Lego peg on the kit, there’s a 42-by-42 square on the
sculpture. (And yes, there is a raised “LEGO” logo on each of those gigantic
pegs.)
This model has an added complication: after its time in NYC, the X-wing will
travel cross-country to LEGOLAND in California, a state with a set of stringent
seismic standards. The computer models help designers plan an intricate steel
infrastructure that will ensure the X-wing won’t shatter in a quake. It’s also
strong enough for you to sit in the cockpit or perch atop one of the engines.
After the steel substructure is complete, builders go about constructing the
model one layer at a time. A temp-to-perm solvent binds the bricks
together—after they’ve been clicked together. Builders put a dollop of glue
inside each of the holes on the underside of a brick; the glue cures overnight,
reacting with the plastic to fuse the two together permanently. Mistakes do
happen, Varszegi admits, so if they catch a mistake the next morning, they can
pry apart bricks with a little elbow grease and perhaps a flathead screwdriver.
The team also added some (literal) bells and whistles to the final sculpture.
The engines have lights and speakers, and so they light up and cycle through a
pre-programmed series of launch and battle sounds. Not to be outdone, R2D2 also
chimes in.
For projects of this scale, LEGO maintains a facility in Kladno, Czech Republic.
Once it’s completed, the fighter breaks down into 14 separate pieces that are
packed in custom shipping containers and delivered by boat. For the move to
Times Square, it was separated into four segments and was loaded onto trucks.
The X-wing unseats the Herobot 9000 robot at the Mall of America as the largest
LEGO sculpture in the world. Though ‘bot stands about 34 feet tall, it has
slightly less than 3 million bricks and is grossly outweighed by the X-wing’s
tonnage. “It’s almost too big,” said Varszegi “from far enough away, you can’t
really tell it’s LEGO.” Sorry Erik, to us that’s the best part.
Video and images from:
POPSCI.COM
-end of report-
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Inside LEGO Life-Size Star Wars X-Wing Fighter With a 7-Year-Old
By Robert Kolker
NYMAG.com
“Dad, you’ve got to tell me.”
“Dad, you’re torturing me.”
“Has it been an hour yet?”
“How do you read that clock?”
“What are you writing down?”
We’re in the back of a black Mercedes, being driven to an undisclosed location —
an airplane hangar somewhere in the tristate area. I know where we’re going.
Nate Kolker does not. He is 7 years old, a first-grader with dusty brown hair
and two missing front teeth. He is excited, mostly because he got to skip his
after-school program, but also because his older sister spilled the beans and
let him know this had something to do with LEGO.
The hangar is housing the largest LEGO sculpture ever made. I haven’t been told
what it is yet, exactly, but the company has offered us this chance to play with
its new sculpture a week before its debut in Times Square on Thursday, May 23.
(The sculpture is a promotion for The Yoda Chronicles, a new Star Wars show on
the Cartoon Network, and the first to feature not human characters but their
animated LEGO avatars, button eyes and claw hands and everything.) I’ve signed a
nondisclosure agreement to embargo the information before that day, and so when
I smile and tell Nate I can’t say anything, citing contractual obligations, I’m
not even lying. It’s one of those moments parents live for.
Then the ride gets rough. We get caught in traffic. The car lurches forward and
stops, and forward again. Nate says he’s going to throw up. We open a window.
Before he has a chance to vomit, he falls asleep. After more than two hours on
the road, we arrive at the hangar, walking together through a narrow side door.
Before us is an X-wing fighter — full-size, an 11-foot-tall and 43-foot-long
replica, 42 times the size of the LEGO X-wing you can find in the store (Star
Wars set #9493, if you must know). We meet Erik, one of a select few “master
builders” who work full-time for LEGO creating large models like this one for
store displays and media events. Erik leads Nate under and around the model,
explaining that the X-wing took 32 master builders more than 17,000 hours to
complete, using 5,335,200 LEGO bricks. The result is nearly 46,000 pounds, with
a wingspan of 44 feet. The fighter was built in the LEGO Model Shop in Kladno,
Czech Republic, then broken in to pieces and brought to America by boat. Its
final destination, after being paraded before tourists in Times Square (emerging
from a large-scale replica of a LEGO box), will be, naturally, the Legoland
theme park in California.
It occurs to me, looking at Nate, that I was 8 when Star Wars came out. I wonder
what I would have made of this moment back then. Erik seems as interested as I
am in what a little boy thinks of it all. We both stare at him, scanning for a
reaction. Nate is silent at first. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes. He still
says nothing. Finally, he says something.
“Why didn’t you make it with the X-wing open?”
I had the same question, actually. Erik is ready for us. “The X-wing is closed
when the fighter has landed,” he says. Then, sotto voce, he allows that the
structural braces needed to prop open the X-wing in X formation would look like
crap.
Erik doubles down now, determined to dazzle the 7-year-old. He points to the top
of the fighter, where they’ve remembered to place a full-scale R2D2. Nate
chuckles. He points at the millions of little LEGO bricks as Erik explains that
the bricks aren’t just glued together; they’re fused into one with solvent. Then
the whole thing is sprayed with some sort of polyurethane to make it shiny. “I
wish it actually flew,” Nate says dreamily.
Erik brings a ladder over and offers Nate a chance to sit in the cockpit. He
might be the first boy ever to do it. Nate nods and scurries up. Facing forward,
he notices that there’s a huge TV screen inside. Erik tells us that the monitor
is for pictures: The cockpit is a photo booth for the kids who will board it in
Times Square. Nate nods; he likes photo booths. But he has a better idea:
turning the X-wing into a POV video game. “Why don’t you turn the thing on so it
looks like you’re flying, too?”
This gives Erik an idea. He brings Nate around to the back of the X-wing and
shows him a gray panel at about Nate’s eye level. Erik removes the panel and
shows Nate two knobs and a switch. He glances conspiratorially at Nate and turns
them all on. Suddenly, we all hear it: that crazy, high-low X-wing hum from the
movies, like an airplane engine but with more sizzle. Then comes the familiar
beeps and hoots of R2. It’s like we’re in the Dagobah system with Luke.
Nate’s eyes are darting everywhere now. “Where does the sound come from? Does it
come from inside the LEGOs? How long does it go? Until it runs out of huge
batteries?” Erik is smiling. Then Nate starts speculating about what might
happen in Star Wars movies he hasn’t seen (he is only halfway through Empire and
hasn’t seen Episodes I through III).
Our visit is ending. Erik shows us the proprietary software he uses to design
models like these — he can dump in any 3-D object and it is transformed into a
workable LEGO model. We shake hands and head back to the car. On the way home,
Nate is as talkative as he was quiet in the hangar.
“It was awesome. It was really big and there were wires, but they made it so you
can’t even see the wires. So you can’t. And there’s this little thing I’m not
allowed to tell you about it, but it’s in the ship and it makes R2 talk and it
makes the engines fire. But it doesn’t really float in midair. If I could, I’d
build something somebody already built, but I’d add a couple things to it. A
couple dozen. I thought they might have a preview for Episode VII, but they
didn’t. And then you signed this thing that I don’t know what it was. What did
you sign? I liked how you pull out this thing that looks like regular LEGO
pieces, but it isn’t, and there’s two switches straight ahead of your eyes and
one up here a little bit to the left, and then you switch it to the right and R2
starts talking and the engines start going. That’s when Yoda comes and saves
them, I think. Hey, look, there’s the sun going down! Dad, you don’t think I
liked it, but I loved it.”
From:
NYMag.com
-end report-
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The LEGO® Group Unveils World’s Largest LEGO® Model To Delight LEGO Star Wars™
Fans Across The Galaxy
-More than five million LEGO bricks used to create life-sized X-Wing starfighter
in celebration of new LEGO Star Wars animated TV special “The Yoda™
Chronicles” premiering on Cartoon Network-
NEW YORK, May 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The LEGO Group today unveiled the
world’s largest LEGO model, a 1:1 replica of the LEGO® Star Wars™ X-Wing
starfighter, in New York’s Times Square. To celebrate the upcoming premiere of
The Yoda Chronicles on Cartoon Network on Wednesday, May 29 at 8:00 p.m. (ET,
PT), the massive replica took 32 master builders, five million LEGO bricks and
over 17,000 hours to complete. The model weighs nearly 46,000 pounds, stands 11
feet tall and 43 feet long, with a wingspan of 44 feet. The Model will “take
off” for a summer landing at LEGOLAND® California Resort where it will be
installed through the remainder of the year.
“Just as kids love to test and hone their LEGO building skills and imaginative
storytelling, our LEGO Master Builders are always testing their creative skills
to top their last larger-than-life sized creations,” said Michael McNally ,
Brand Relations Director for LEGO Systems. “The size and structural complexity
of a freestanding model 42 times the size of one our retail sets was a challenge
they could not resist.”
LEGO Star Wars is the original and most successful licensed product collection
in The LEGO Group’s history and remains among the best-selling global toy lines.
The theme’s evergreen strength comes from its appeal across generations to fans
of all ages and a steady introduction of digital content such as The Yoda
Chronicles to compliment the building experience.
“Much the same way that fans can build the Star Wars universe with our LEGO
sets, we are fortunate to work with Lucasfilm to build new stories, characters
and vehicles through one-of-a-kind content such as the new ‘Yoda Chronicles’
miniseries launching on Cartoon Network,” said Nicholas Hort , LEGO Star Wars
brand manager.
LEGO Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter Model Fun Facts
•Contains 5,335,200 LEGO bricks
•Weighs 45,980 pounds
•Height: 11 feet / 3.35 meters
•Length: 43 feet / 13.1 meters
•Wingspan: 44 feet / 13.44 meters
•32 builders spent 17,336 hours to construct – about 4 months
•Built in the LEGO Model Shop in Kladno, Czech Republic
•Is a one-to-one replica of LEGO Star Wars set #9493; The model is 42x the size
of the retail building set
•The model was heavily engineered to withstand all the transportation,
setup/break down and to ensure it was safe for Times Square given the subway
system below and California’s seismic requirements for the LEGOLAND California
Resort installation.
How to Celebrate From a “Galaxy Far, Far Away” with Cool Content and LEGO
Bricks
“The Yoda Chronicles”
The Yoda Chronicles is an exciting, funny and action-packed new LEGO Star Wars
story told in three animated TV specials. “The Phantom Clone” will premiere on
Wednesday, May 29 at 8:00 p.m. (ET, PT) on Cartoon Network with specials two and
three airing later this year. In the first of three specials, a brand new
character, Jek 14 will enter the Star Wars universe. Created by the LEGO Group,
Jek 14 is a clone who has been ‘enhanced’ by the Force.
LEGO Star Wars Red Five X-Wing Starfighter™
The most detailed and realistic version of the construction set, the LEGO Star
Wars Red Five X-Wing Starfighter, is now available as the ultimate collectible.
This exclusive model that contains over 1,500 LEGO bricks comes with a special
display stand and data sheet label, is available at LEGO® brand retail stores
and shop.LEGO.com for $199.99 USD.
For more information, visit LEGO.com/StarWars
About The LEGO Group
LEGO Systems Inc. (LSI) is the Americas division of The LEGO Group, a
privately-held firm based in Billund, Denmark that is the world’s leading
manufacturer of construction toys. The company is committed to the development
of children’s creative and imaginative abilities through high-quality,
creatively educational play materials, and its employees are guided by the motto
adopted in the 1930s by founder Ole Kirk Christiansen: “Only the best is good
enough.” For more information, visit www.LEGO.com
LEGO, its logo and the Minifigure are trademarks of The LEGO Group. ©2013 The
LEGO Group.
STAR WARS, THE CLONE WARS and related character names are trademarks and/or
copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or
its affiliates.
©2013. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.
Source: The LEGO Group
On YouTube:
Time Lapse video Building the
largest Lego Star Wars model X-Wing Fighter
ITN Channel: Life-sized LEGO Star
Wars X-wing Starfighter
AP:AssociatedPress: World’s Largest
LEGO Model Revealed
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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
-end of report-
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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
-end of report-
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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
-end of report-
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The Little Gym® Builds New Partnership With LEGO Systems
Exclusive LEGO® DUPLO® Activities Coming to The Little Gym
SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwired - Apr 30, 2013) - Building healthy bodies and minds
is already a part of The Little Gym® experience. Soon, The Little Gym members
can also enjoy the creative, constructive, developmental fun of building with
LEGO® DUPLO® preschool building toys, thanks to a multi-year partnership between
The Little Gym International, the world’s premier experiential learning and
physical development center for kids, and LEGO Systems, Inc., the North American
division of the world’s leading construction toy brand.
Through the agreement, The Little Gym is an exclusive category partner and will
begin integrating products from the LEGO DUPLO line of building toys into
special programs for children ages 19 months through 4 years old. The
activities, created by The Little Gym International team of educational
specialists and play consultants from The LEGO Group, will help children
creatively build their problem solving, imagination and socialization skills.
Special DUPLO experiences will be available to The Little Gym parents and
children, including:
•WonderKids Club™: each session of The Little Gym’s structured enrichment
program will incorporate a 20-minute DUPLO building activity that corresponds
with the Learning Unit and Lesson Plan theme for the week.
•“Let’s Build, Let’s Play”: parents of The Little Gym’s Beast and Super Beast
members (19 months to 3 years old) may participate together in new monthly,
complimentary DUPLO building experiences where parents and children can bond and
creatively play together.
•”Awesome Birthday Bash”: special DUPLO experiences have been integrated into
all parties for children celebrating their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th birthdays
“Our curriculum is continually evolving to best reflect our key tenets of
Three-Dimensional Learning,” said Bob Bingham, President and CEO, The Little Gym
International. “This exciting DUPLO integration will help us to further infuse
creativity and imagination into programs while allowing children to further
develop their problem-solving and fine-motor skills.”
LEGO DUPLO preschool building toys are specially designed for the small hands
and big imaginations of children ages 1 1/2 to 5. DUPLO bricks are twice the
size of classic LEGO bricks, making them easier to manipulate and a perfect tool
for developing a youngster’s motor skills. The product collection fosters
everything from creative, open-ended building to model creation, role play and
storytelling.
“LEGO DUPLO bricks are designed to offer children so many ways to play and
learn through creative building and exploration,” said Keith Last, brand
manager, LEGO Systems. “We especially love when a child’s building moments
become fully immersive experiences, which is why we’re thrilled to partner with
The Little Gym to create new activities and inspire families to consider how the
hands-on, minds-on fun of DUPLO building can be a perfect complement to physical
activity as their children develop.”
DUPLO programs and activities are now available at select The Little Gym
locations and will be coming to a gym near you soon. To find the nearest
location of The Little Gym, please visit www.TheLittleGym.com.
About The Little Gym
The Little Gym is the world’s premier experiential learning and physical
development center for kids ages four months through 12 years. To parents, The
Little Gym is an internationally recognized child development program, proven to
teach social and physical skills appropriate to each stage of childhood by
creating opportunities to experience achievement and build
self‐confidence. The Little Gym has locations in 28 countries and is
represented by 210 locations in the U.S. and 300 total worldwide. For more
information, visit The Little Gym at www.TheLittleGym.com.
About LEGO Systems Inc
LEGO Systems, Inc. is the North American division of The LEGO Group, a
privately-held, family-owned company based in Billund, Denmark, one of the
world’s leading manufacturers of creatively educational play materials for
children. The company is committed to the development of children’s creative and
imaginative abilities, and its employees are guided by the motto adopted in the
1930s by founder Ole Kirk Christiansen: “Only the best is good enough.” Visit
www.LEGO.com
LEGO, DUPLO, their logos, the brick and knob configuration and the Minifigure
are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2013 The LEGO Group.
MarketWise.com
-end of report-
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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-
|
|
| |
In lugnet.mediawatch, Paul Ferguson wrote:
| |
Today’s Wall Street Journal has a follow-up article. In what will not
surprise AFOLs, Lego explains that they did meet with the Turkish Cultural
Assocition, but that the set is being disontinued as part of their regular
product cycle. As we all know, they turn over sets pretty fast now.
http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2013/04/02/legos-comes-clean-on-
why-jabba-got-the-boot/?KEYWORDS=lego
|
Still, I wonder if this will make this set even more of a collector value with
the controversy. I wonder if it would affect a future re-release or re-hash of
that set.
drc
|
|
| |
In lugnet.mediawatch, Joshua Delahunty wrote:
| |
In lugnet.mediawatch, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
|
| |
| |
In lugnet.mediawatch, Paul Ferguson wrote:
|
|
| |
| |
| |
A story in the British newspaper The Independent reports that Lego has
agreed to discontinue set 9516 - Jabba’s Palace - after complaints by the
Turkish Cultural Association in Austria.
Full story:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-racist-menace-muslims-declare-victory-in-fight-over-antiislamic-lego-8555610.html
Of course, I figure that they’d have discontinued this set in 2014 anyway,
as newer Star Wars sets come on line.
|
And here I was wondering if this would be a year with no special 1 April
stories on LUGNET...
|
Apparently, it’s the real deal (the article hit 31 Mar), but the association
that is hailing a victory may have misinterpreted what they were told.
-- joshua
|
Today’s Wall Street Journal has a follow-up article. In what will not surprise
AFOLs, Lego explains that they did meet with the Turkish Cultural Assocition,
but that the set is being disontinued as part of their regular product cycle.
As we all know, they turn over sets pretty fast now.
http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2013/04/02/legos-comes-clean-on-
why-jabba-got-the-boot/?KEYWORDS=lego
|
|
| |
In lugnet.mediawatch, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
| |
In lugnet.mediawatch, Paul Ferguson wrote:
| |
A story in the British newspaper The Independent reports that Lego has
agreed to discontinue set 9516 - Jabba’s Palace - after complaints by the
Turkish Cultural Association in Austria.
Full story:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-racist-menace-muslims-declare-victory-in-fight-over-antiislamic-lego-8555610.html
Of course, I figure that they’d have discontinued this set in 2014 anyway,
as newer Star Wars sets come on line.
|
And here I was wondering if this would be a year with no special 1 April
stories on LUGNET...
|
Apparently, it’s the real deal (the article hit 31 Mar), but the association
that is hailing a victory may have misinterpreted what they were told.
-- joshua
|
|
| |
In lugnet.mediawatch, Paul Ferguson wrote:
| |
A story in the British newspaper The Independent reports that Lego has agreed
to discontinue set 9516 - Jabba’s Palace - after complaints by the Turkish
Cultural Association in Austria.
Full story:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-racist-menace-muslims-declare-victory-in-fight-over-antiislamic-lego-8555610.html
Of course, I figure that they’d have discontinued this set in 2014 anyway, as
newer Star Wars sets come on line.
|
And here I was wondering if this would be a year with no special 1 April stories
on LUGNET...
|
|
| |
A story in the British newspaper The Independent reports that Lego has agreed to
discontinue set 9516 - Jabba’s Palace - after complaints by the Turkish Cultural
Association in Austria.
Full story:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-racist-menace-muslims-declare-victory-in-fight-over-antiislamic-lego-8555610.html
Of course, I figure that they’d have discontinued this set in 2014 anyway, as
newer Star Wars sets come on line.
|
|
| |
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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