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Subject: 
Re: Are you paying attention, LEGO?
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.general, lugnet.lego.direct, lugnet.dear-lego, lugnet.off-topic.clone-brands
Date: 
Sat, 4 Nov 2000 20:41:12 GMT
Viewed: 
2307 times
  
In lugnet.general, Tim Courtney writes:
"Dave Schuler" <orrex@excite.com> wrote in message
news:G3D163.K3D@lugnet.com...

  I certainly don't want MegaBloks to take over the whole market, but I • just
as certainly don't mind their presence in it, if only as a warning against
complacency.  >Yup.  I guess I'm so loyal to the LEGO brand that I could get the shaft -
but if so, I'll just buy old product secondhand and continue to gripe.  I
don't forsee that happening though - I think that TLC has a good chance of
pulling through in a reasonable time.  I at least hope they do.

  Elsewhere in the thread people have discussed the necessary lag in
response time, in terms of development costs, projections, • implementations,
et al.  Understandable, certainly, but not encouraging, either; if it • takes
X number of months to implement a rudamentary online ordering system of
already-existing parts, how much longer will it take to reverse the firmly
entrenched, theme-spanning juniorization campaign?

Once they realize its effects, it shouldn't take longer than a year (in
product line terms) to do that.  They for sure still have proofs and molds
from the older, non-juniorized parts.  And unless they fired all the good
designers - they just need to reprogram them into making good stuff again.

TLC has some things to learn from this and I think that parts of the • company
are learning.  But those parts of the company need to teach the other • parts
to respond quicker if they are going to survive.  As an informed AFOL, I
want to be giving TLC appropriate feedback so they can make decisions • which
will help them.  I'm sure there are others who desire to do the same, and
there are some people here with some very good ideas on things that TLC
should be doing on a long term basis.
Whatever TLC are doing, they are obviously basing it on a 'More Sales;
policy by following proven lines (quick-fix excitement for kids with the
Juniorisation to compete with lesser quality ready-made toys).

Yes, this sells right now, but when I was first introduced to LEGO, the
product stood head and shoulders above all other toys because it's very
nature made it what it is. Now it is trying to be something else (plus ca
change?) and finding lots of other 'something elses' to compete with.


  That's definitely a good goal, and one that we might actually be able to
hope for, given the somewhat more approachable corporate presence TLC has
demonstrated recently.  Before Brad's debut, the only sort of feedback we
were able to give came in the form of reduced revenues for TLC and idle
ranting to an apparently deaf audience.

It won't change until the accountants are confident!

Yep, that's what I'm saying.  I know they're responsive and want to dialog -
I've dialoged with a few TLC employees about these very issues.  These
people have come from various departments including Lego Direct.  They as
people, at least, hear our concerns and have talked about them - I hope that
stuff like this is making itself further in to the company though.

I hope they learn, and I hope they're able to hold their head above the • evil
MegaBloks.
As a die-hard LEGO fan I also refuse to buy MB - but I will do when the
overall product quality (materials and design) overtakes TLG.

  Yikes!  Whatever your opinion of MegaBloks themselves, Ritvik as a • company
has some good points, at least in terms of market awareness and
responsiveness.  Perhaps in years to come TLC will learn from them and
harvest the good from amid the evil.

A brief lesson from TLG's history - they concentrated on the building brick
system when it was more profitable & fashionable than their wooden toys
(notwithstanding the fire). The LEGO brand now covers clothing, baby toys,
lunch boxes etc. etc. - I wonder which of these will rise from the current
metaphorical 'fire' of competition?

Jon

Ritvik the company is doing good, I can't deny that.  But I despise their
product because of its nature - and that's my cold hard opinion being a
die-hard LEGO (brand) collector and user - ever since I was a wee lad.
--

Tim Courtney - tim@zacktron.com

http://www.ldraw.org - Centralized LDraw Resources
http://www.zacktron.com - Zacktron Alliance

ICQ: 23951114 - AIM: TimCourtne



Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Are you paying attention, LEGO?
 
"Dave Schuler" <orrex@excite.com> wrote in message news:G3D163.K3D@lugnet.com... (...) just (...) be (...) have (...) I agree wholeheartedly with that statement. I'm certainly loyal to the brand - but if it comes to the point I'll only be loyal to (...) (24 years ago, 1-Nov-00, to lugnet.general, lugnet.lego.direct, lugnet.dear-lego, lugnet.off-topic.clone-brands)

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