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NEW YORK, Feb. 13, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ --
LEGO® Systems Builds on Year-Over-Year U.S. Sales Growth
80 years of innovation and brand development make the LEGO brick one of today’s
most relevant and sought-after toys for the playroom
By LEGO Systems, Inc.
AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL TOY FAIR -- LEGO Systems, Inc., the American division of
the world’s leading construction toy brand, achieved year-on-year, double-digit
U.S. sales growth in 2011, reaching record levels in consumer sales and market
share in 2011.
2011 LEGO Systems U.S. Year-end Highlights (source: The NPD Group U.S. Consumer
Panel)
•Recorded seventh consecutive year of growth in the U.S.
•Grew U.S. consumer sales +22% to reach $1.33 billion.
•Increased U.S. total toy market share to 6.2%, up 1.2 share points over 2010,
to solidify position as #3 toy manufacturer in America. The company’s share of
the total U.S. toy market has tripled in five years.
•Accounted for 80% of
Building Sets category sales in the U.S. in a year of increased category
competition.
•Solidified rank as America’s #1 preschool construction brand,
adding +11 share points to reach 43.5% of the segment.
•Responsible for 25% of
all toys sold to American boys ages 9-11 in 2011 and 20% of all U.S. toys sold
to boys ages 6-8.
•Placed 9 LEGO properties in the top 100 of all traditional
toys in the U.S.
“Achieving another year of record growth in the U.S. is exciting and reflects
our continuing strategy to deliver a wide range of products for builders of all
ages and interests,” said Soren Torp Laursen, president, LEGO Systems. “Our
sales growth last year stems from a reinforced core business of building sets,
now complemented by expanded offerings to reach new children and a 360-degree
brand experience that bridges physical and virtual play worlds to engage
children’s imagination and compel them to keep building.”
In 2011, sales of LEGO CITY, LEGO Star Wars™ and the company’s homegrown
property LEGO NINJAGO alone accounted for 36% of the overall Building Set
category. An expanded and diversified LEGO DUPLO collection drove strong gains
in preschool construction. The company’s classic CREATOR line of 3-in-1 models
also ranked among the top 2011 selling lines in the U.S., signaling that demand
is also strong for traditional, non-themed building sets.
“A 23 percent increase in the building sets category last year, relative to a
majority of toy categories in decline, may very well be attributed to our
continuing strategy to drive relevance for construction play through a broad,
yet deep, collection of building sets to inspire creative play in all children
of any age, building skill or interest,” Laursen said.
The company’s expansion strategy, fueled by its reinforced core business and the
discipline of inventing the future of play through only building experiences,
has merged the core appeal of play patterns from toy categories including
Preschool, Action Figures, Board Games, Vehicles and Youth Electronics,
Collectibles and Girls’ Activity Playsets, as well as leveraging the popularity
of video games to draw new users into building. Last year, the company recruited
nearly four million new builders to LEGO building with its playsets and another
one million new users to the LEGO brand through its video games.
“As a single-brand toy company, we see ourselves in the business of play, not
only toys, and we play a different game from most in the toy industry as it
relates to innovation and growth,” said Laursen. “We are leveraging the
versatility of our play material to make Building Sets a home for many kind of
play to change the way that children buy and engage with toys. By adapting play
patterns outside of our category to construction play, we have the ability to
deliver an authentic LEGO building experience for children who may not initially
be drawn to construction.”
LEGO Systems introduces its largest, most versatile collection of
build-and-play toys ever-more than 200 new products for children of all ages–at
the American International Toy Fair this week in New York City. Building on a
strong core business of evergreen favorites like LEGO CITY and LEGO Star Wars
are new themes such as LEGO Friends, DINO and Monster Fighters; lines inspired
by DC Universe and Marvel Super Heroes, the LORD OF THE RINGS™ film trilogy, and
THE HOBBIT™; and new DUPLO preschool products designed specifically for the
U.S., making the potential for continued growth very strong.
“Our recent year-on-year growth trend and our early reads already this year have
us bullish about our ability to further develop the LEGO business in the U.S. in
2012,” Laursen said. “We will continue to apply the LEGO idea to relevant play
patterns from other categories to draw new children into Building Sets while
staying 100% true to the core DNA of LEGO play and the 360-degree experience
that sets the LEGO brand apart.”
New LEGO products launched in January. Additional launches are planned in March,
May, June, August and November.
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
the virtual LEGO world at www.LEGO.com
LEGO, the LEGO logo and DUPLO are trademarks of the LEGO Group. © 2012 The LEGO
Group.
DC Universe and all related characters are elements or trademarks of and © DC
Comics. TM and © 2012 Marvel and Subs.
© New Line Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED
JOURNEY and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are
trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises under
license to New Line Productions, Inc. (s11)
© 2011 New Line Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of
the Rings: The Return of the King and the names of the characters, items, events
and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth
Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. (s11)
© 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved.
SOURCE LEGO Systems, Inc.
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