Subject:
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Tech, "family values" drive construction toy boom
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Followup-To:
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lugnet.mediawatch
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Date:
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Thu, 21 Feb 2002 07:02:34 GMT
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Viewed:
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764 times
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-from business wired- 02/13/02
TECH "Family Values" Drive construction toy boom"
By Vivian Chu
NEW YORK (Reuters)
A look inside the LEGO® showroom at this year's American International Toy
Fair is enough to show that traditional building blocks have undergone a
dramatic make-over.
Programmable robots, PC video cameras and electronic parts have transformed
LEGO from the staid colored plastic blocks of yesteryear into high-tech
gadgets. A remote-controlled, LEGO-built vehicle zooms across the floor,
programmed to follow instructions downloaded from LEGO game software.
It is a far cry from the LEGO blocks enjoyed by children just a generation ago.
But tech-driven innovation, combined with a renewed focus on domestic
activity and classic toys after the Sept. 11 attacks, have propelled sales
of LEGO and other building toys into the second-fastest growing category of
the $25 billion toy industry.
U.S. retail sales of building and construction toys jumped 22 percent to
$882 million in 2001, according to NPDFunworld, the toy tracking unit of
market research firm NPD. The percent increase is second after sales of
action figures and accessories, which rose 36 percent last year to $1.6 billion.
"After September 11, I think there has been a refocus on families playing
and getting more involved with their kids," said Andrew Black, president of
LEGO Systems Inc., which accounts for about 70 percent of the building and
construction toy segment.
"People are staying at home more and starting to realize that family values
are important to them. And the whole play pattern of Lego and building
things really lends itself to what families are doing today," said Black,
speaking to Reuters at the toy fair, being held in New York Feb. 10-14.
HOLLYWOOD HELP
Helping to drive growth of the building and construction segment were LEGO
sales of toys based on Hollywood blockbusters "Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone" and "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace."
The privately-held Lego won't disclose sales figures, but its agreements
with Star Wars and Harry Potter represent LEGO first and second most
lucrative licenses to date, said a spokesman.
Despite the marketing blitz, toy makers say that the renewed interest in
building and construction toys has less to do with marketing and more about
innovation.
Last year, the top 3 toy makers in the building and construction segment --
Lego, Ritvik Holdings, and K'nex Industries -- all launched new products,
which helped drive sales for the category, said Chris Campbell, vice
president of worldwide marketing for K'nex, maker of Lincoln Logs and other
building sets.
The privately held K'nex generated $15 million in sales from the building
segment's best-selling toy -- the Screamin' Serpent, a 7-foot long roller
coaster complete with roller coaster sounds and screams -- it launched last
year.
Classic games and toys enjoyed by Baby Boomer and Generation-X parents have
seen a resurgence in popularity, which has also benefited sales of building
toys. A backlash against highly promotional toys in recent years has also
helped, since Legos and other building sets are seen as classic and familiar
objects, said toy makers.
"Construction toys have much more longevity than something like Pokemon,
which was gone in a year," said Campbell, referring to the Japanese cartoon
characters which took the global markets by storm in 1999.
Still, in an age of instant gratification and video games, toy makers face
considerable challenges in creating products that appeal to children no
longer content with simply building objects and tearing them down.
"Traditionally, the building area was about buying a bunch of blocks, and
building and then rebuilding things," said K'nex's Campbell. "But the
category is now less focused on the process of building, and more on the
build and play aspect."
-end of report-
-Abner
GMLTC.ORG
LUGNET #545
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