Subject:
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Re: A rant on many poor business practices leading to unemployment
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.lego
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Date:
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Sun, 4 Jan 2004 04:49:37 GMT
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Viewed:
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1648 times
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I understand my idealism is not always concordant with business realities.
That's why this is a 'rant' :P However...
Any contract which might make Lego unable to produce Space and Star Wars themes
at once is a bad contract and whoever signed it was not thinking. If Mr. I love
myself too much Lucas wouldn't do the deal without it then Lego should have told
him to put part # 3471 where it counts. Not that I don't enjoy the SW sets...
but I'd rather have none or have some awful clone brick making them than have
Lego getting locked into a contract where each bad SW movie (and almost everyone
will admit to being disappointed lately) lowers rather than increases their
sales figures. I don't exactly see Gungans(sp?) becoming a valuable/rare
auctioned minifigure... The only redeming feature behind most of the Star Wars
sets are some of the new windscreens and wedges.
If there's not enough manufacturing capacity (or the ability to increase such)
to allow for new lines then guess what gets sacrificed? The old ones. I'd have
to say the new ones should be sacrificed over the old ones. Especially when
such core themes such as Castles and Space are getting shelved. I understand
maybe not having them at their peak production level. But at least offer every
old set online if they're not going to do it in store. That way they can make
like 1000 or less units of said sets a year and only pound off runs of 100 when
it runs out or tell everyone to wait 1 year, I unsderstand you can't make tons
of everything. I'm just asking for some of everything, even if it's just a
token amount.
If some themes are actually selling well like Bioncle and Jack Stone (both of
which I despise greatly) then by all means keep making them. But not in
exclusion. I want normal sized minifigs. I am not 6. If Lego wants to make
products for children who are too stupid to move directly from duplo size to
minifig sized legos, that's fine. But not in exclusion. Just because a lot of
children liked the Power Rangery Galidor junk doesn't mean all do. There are
plenty of children (and of course adults who spend the most money) who think
that those things are worse than drinking from the toilet. Lego's are supposed
to foster imagination, not railroad it down a narrow path. So what I'd like to
see is not an exclusively to my taste or "their" taste Lego line. I'd like to
see one that recognizes the taste of everyone. Just because most people like
certain "mainstream" toy trends doesn't make them the people to cater to.
Rather than try to kiss up to them while kicking the smart Lego fans in the
teeth, Lego should be endeavoring to heighten those lower class consumer's
tastes with better advertising or marketing. I have never seen a well done Lego
commercial here in the US. Have you? I'd still stab Zack the Lego Maniac to
death with a plastic spork if I met him even though he's probably 24 now.
Heres' my proposal: (numbers are /abstractions/)
If they produce 100,000 less Bioncle/Galidor/ sets (which probably wouldn't sell
considering they already made 800,000 that only 2/3 of sold in a year, then take
that extra assembly line and make it a custom line.
Then each week they make a different set on the line (there's no machines to
retool, only press plates to change for boxes since you can hand pick the sets
just fine. The only thing you'd retool for is if the set contains some unique
piece which only a few promotional sets ever do.). There's 50 weeks in the year
after you take off vacation days. That means you can make 50 different classic
sets every year. Then if they sell well next year you can do it with 2 lines,
and so on.
They still have the old molds and box plates and so nothing new needs to be made
and we at least have the chance (however slim since such items would no doubt be
bought faster than they could make them). From what I can tell those S@H castle
items did well, no? Why not more? I don't buy anything online so it wouldn't
help me. I need them IN A STORE so they can be bought with cash. But at least
it would help many of you rich enough to afford credit cards and bank accounts.
And if they don't sell right away... like I said. Lego's don't really have a shelf life per se. (they do due to fading but it's a long #$% time). And when I speak of putting the old sets back on retail shelves I'm not talking about Walmart and ToysRUs. I wouldn't buy a curtain rod there, let alone toys. Large retailers are a lost cause. I'm talking about the specialty toy stores that have entire walls of legos and make all their money off the sale of legos. Heck, Legos even have their own stores now. They could at least put them just there. There's two in my state although they are not in the city (Boston) so not accessible in any way unless I carjack someone. There's another decision to question. Why put the stores in the middle of nowhere instead of in the city? Are there not more people (thus customers) in the city? Yes, there are. And here suburban commercial RE prices are not sufficiently cheaper than city rents enough to justify this. I don't know... maybe they signed the same sort of contract with FAO Schwartz as they did with Lucas :P
Lego needs to step up their advertising skills and budgets in the US anyhow.
The fact that there were Lego stores was unknown to me until I discovered their
presence by accident. All X-Mas season I've seen no ads on TV for Legos (and I
watch ALOT of the Cartoon Network). Put more ads for the Star Wars Legos and
Harry Potter Legos on TV if you're not selling them. I've never seen a single
ad for those lines ever except for once seeing 1 ad for the Privet Lane set.
Never seen a single Star Wars lego ad. They might exist but if I watch almost
exclusively the Cartoon Network where are they showing the ads? Gee... no
wonder sales were low. Nobody but diehard Lego fanatics know those lines exist.
Maybe I'm alone in my views or the extremity of them... I don't think so
judging from peoples irate posts based on such things as new greys and brown,
ugly big knights, etc.
Yes, alot of people will continue to buy substandard Lego themes. But even if
those people are in the majority, they are not as smart as I am. And rather
than cater to their fickle whims while ignoring my pain, I would like to see
Lego try to convince them to be more like me... Or at least try to please both
of us. They may spend more money than I do, they may outnumber me and my ilk
90000 to 1. But they are also more subjectible to brainwashing than I am, and
more likely to change their views. It's far easier for Lego to convince those
90000 to buy classic town and castle sets than for Lego to convince the 1 me to
buy Bioncle.
-Andy
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