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LEGO (R) Reports Sales Increase
By Howard French,
Feb. 23, 2009
Danish toy maker LEGO Systems, Inc. managed to sidestep the major slide in
retail sales overall in 2008, reporting 38 percent sales growth in the past
year, according to a company statement.
Privately held LEGO maintains its North and South American headquarters in
Enfield.
Its strong 2008 results come in marked contrast to 2007, when the company laid
off hundreds of workers amid a decline in sales and profits. LEGO Systems
President Soren Torp Laursen said in a recent statement that the 2008
performance included “record-breaking U.S. consumer sales growth,” as overall
toy industry market share also rose, and construction toy category market share
surged as well.
“The performance is attributed to a well-balanced product portfolio, healthy
retail partnerships, and the brand’s heritage and reputation,” Laursen said.
Full year highlights included sales growth outpacing the U.S. toy industry and
most other manufacturers, reaching a record high share of 3 percent of the
overall U.S. toy industry’s total of roughly $21.6 billion, he said.
The brand’s No. 1 ranking in construction toys “was further bolstered with
category share increasing 7 points from 66 percent in 2007 to 73 percent in
2008, the highest level since 1992,” Laursen said. LEGO experienced
“double-digit consumer sales growth in every major toy retailer,” he said.
“We achieved unprecedented growth and set company records in the face of
negative economic trends and a downturn in consumer spending,” Laursen said.
“While the economic conditions remain challenging, we remain confident that we
will be able to deliver the growth we have planned for 2009,” he said.
In 2007, LEGO slashed 290 of the 650 jobs at its Enfield operations - farming
out production, packaging, and shipping work to a company in Asia while it also
closed its Enfield packaging operation.
Hartfordbusiness.com
-end of report-
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