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In lugnet.dear-lego, Paul Kleniewski wrote:
> let's don't make things worse than they really are
>
> if we think "the core" is brick and nothing more
> then we should think TLC will stop producting plates
> which is stupid
> so IMO technic is a patr of "core"
> the same with liftarms (studless beams)
>
> "the core" or "the brick" means "not shoes" "not clothes"
> "not galidor" "not games" etc
If TLC is trying to control costs and return to profitability, they will want to
cut products that have a bad profit margin for them. This would likely include
Star Wars and Harry Potter on the basis of licensing fees and specialized part
requirements of those sets. (I'm still amazed that they bothered to create a
mold for Dobby heads, for example.) Electronics would also be a likely chop,
since it is more costly to produce a motor or an RCX than it is to pump out a
few truckloads of basic brick.
On the other hand, Technic is just a fancy name for a category of brick. TLC
can crank out beams, liftarms, and connector pins about as inexpensively as they
can crank out 2x4s, and it uses the same ABS pellets and molding equipment.
They would gain very little by ceasing production of these parts. If anything,
their "return to core values" would imply that they will produce more of these
parts in order to capitalize on their biggest strength: pumping out brick.
So if you think about it, you can predict fairly easily the type of sets that we
will see in the next few years. (Hopefully more than just Bionicle!) Not many
sets, if any, containing CD-ROMS, microcontrollers, infrared remote controls, or
even battery boxes, but lots of sets containing brick of all shapes. Software
titles, board games, and sneakers are expensive to develop and difficult to
produce efficiently. But other items of clothing will likely remain since they
will still want to sell tee shirts and baseball caps at LEGOLand and the retail
outlets, and these items are easily farmed out to a host of well-established
sweat shops-- I mean "manufacturers."
It would be nice to get an official answer about all of this from TLC, but don't
hold your breath. After all, we didn't even get a solid answer here about the
relatively trivial color change issue. (Though Jake did eventually say over on
on 1000steine that "the new colors are here to stay.")
It is sad to see a company that has been a worldwide household name for decades
struggling so desperately just to stay afloat. But hey, I don't think I could
afford to lose a quarter billion dollars either...
- Chris.
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