Subject:
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Re: Bad Policy #2 (Why all the secrecy, LEGO Direct?)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.lego.direct
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Date:
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Mon, 7 May 2001 21:55:35 GMT
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Viewed:
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1695 times
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In lugnet.lego.direct, Lawrence Wilkes writes:
>
> "Larry Pieniazek" <lpieniazek@mercator.com> wrote in message
> news:GCz5o4.B4H@lugnet.com...
> > In lugnet.lego.direct, Lawrence Wilkes writes:
> > >
> > > "Mr L F Braun" <braunli1@pilot.msu.edu> wrote in message
> > > news:GCz2Du.2xw@lugnet.com...
> > > >
> > > > That's just the point. LEGO *is* satisfying its customers,
> > > > on the whole.
> > >
> > > How can a company that is losing money be satisfying its customers?
> >
> > Here's one way... give the stuff away for free. Instant money loser, very
> > happy customers. (did I hear an internet bubble popping in the • background?)
> >
> > Or were you asking a serious question? There are thousands of ways to
> > satisfy customers and yet not make money. The trick is to satisfy • customers
> > AND make money doing it.
> >
> > I think LD is the best hope of satisfying the customers we most care about
> > (us) and still make money for TLC as a whole. Are they there yet? No. Are
> > they trying hard? YES!!!!
>
>
> The point is though, that Lego does none of those tricks.
> It is a traditional, conservative company that tries to make profit in an
> 'old fashioned' way.
> It isnt try to make a loss in return for shareholder value, or making loses
> in the short term in the hope of becomming the dominant player in the long
> term.
>
> It is making a loss because it is not doing things well. Pure and simple.
>
> Lego does not get much of my money (as much as it would if it make the right
> stuff), nor others I suspect, because it doesnt make things I want to buy.
> That is not satisfying its customers
> I cannot believe that Lego market share (of toys in general, construction
> toys in particular) has not declined considerably in the UK at least in
> recent years
> You only have to look at the shelf space they have vacated in any toy shop.
> I can point to my local toy shops that once had yards of their stuff and now
> have NONE. Thats NONE. (but they do have mega blocks, blockmen, Kinex)
> How can they be satisfying customers if people dont buy it and stores dont
> stock it?
> I look at my kids and their friends - right in prime lego target age
> groups - and they have NO interest in lego what so ever (try as I might)
>
> Perhaps more accurately I should say they are not satisfying their target
> market.
I've become a bit concerned by the shrinking Lego shelf-space phenomenon. I was
in a K-Mart recently that had no Lego at all (and yes, it did have the
competitors.) Recently, I've been in several KBs that had a disturbingly small
amount of Lego. Generally, I tend to gauge (or rather, make a personal
prediction) regarding the robustness of a store's Lego sales by the amount and
type of SW Lego on the shelves (because SW has no doubt been their system bread-
and-butter for the last 2 years.) My philosophy is that when the only Lego on
the shelves is a few marked-down copies of 7124, 7131, or 7111, then Lego hasn't
been selling very well, because nothing has been re-ordered. I know more than
one KB that has 80-90% of the same Lego stock (both in terms of volume and
actual inventory) that it had a year ago. Something evil is afoot.
james
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