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In lugnet.dear-lego, Jason Rowoldt writes:
> Deidre,
> I agree with some of your points, but must disagree on others.
Of course, my perspective, parental or otherwise, is just one of many :)
> To wit:
> > - No, if you want to invest in a product that will interest your kids for
> > several years to come (and at that price, you want that.)
>
> Please note I do not have kids of my own, but I have friends with kids, and
> nephews, etc.
>
> How much were furbies/pokemon/power rangers? How long was their life span?
> not more than a few years, then the fad was over. But Hasbro made a TON of
> money druing those few years. The same may not be true of LEGO, becasue they • do
> not have that huge marketing tie-in. I will bet you, though, that the • upcoming
> Harry Potter stuff will be a mint. Longevity is not necessarily the concern
> for a toy company. Should it be for you? Maybe, but just realize for them it
> is not. they want you to buy MORE, not just use what you have indefinately.
Longevity is a concern for me, even as a parent who just happens to be an
AFOL too, I suspect it is more so for non-AFOL parents. I think of "investing"
in Lego as being an ongoing process, not just buying X sets and being done
with it. Lego is extremely expensive in Australia, not only does it have
to be perceived as excellent quality, play-value, etc etc to get those initial
sales, but if Lego want parents to keep coming back for more then the play
lifespan is important too.
Juniorisation has its place, but if I could spend eg $100 on a juniorised set
that might last say 2 years or $100 on a non-juniorised set that would be
suitable now and still offer play-value in say 4+ years (whether that be in
it's original themed format or as parts for other building projects) I'd buy
the non-Jr. That, unfortunately is not a choice I have with town at the moment
so I've bought the Juniorised sets. What would non-AFOL parents do? I'd bet
that a fair proportion of them would balk at $100 for either and buy something
else altogether. If Lego cannot get those initial sales from non-AFOL parents
then getting them to come back for more doesn't even get a look-in.
As for other toys being faddish, it's probably a cultural thing, we do get
the flow-on from fads in other countries but they don't seem to have as much
impact here (Pokemon may be an exception!). Personally I don't buy faddish
toys, what I look for in Lego is what I look for in everything else.
I'm lucky, I can afford to buy Lego, not as much as I'd like, but many
parents in Australia can't afford it at all. I'm not overlooking the fact
that the US is a big market for Lego but Lego want to be the "strongest brand
amongst families with children by 2005" not "the strongest brand amongst
families with children in the US by 2005" although, it follows that to achieve
the former they also have to achieve the latter too.
<snippage>
> > I won't get started on Lego computer games, children's books etc. I buy a • lot
> > of bricks but I can't ever see myself buying that stuff, Lego don't waste
> > your time, get back to basics and the consumers might just come back to you.
>
> I disagree. I think that is an awesome direction for them to take.
> Mindstorms, the racing games, the upcoming Speilberg movie deal. Great
> diversification of product lines.
Even as an AFOL I'm just not interested in what Lego has had to offer in the
non-brick line here so far. I wouldn't include Mindstorms in that, Mindstorms
is a big step in the RIGHT direction, and I'm looking forward to be able to
buy some later this year. The RIS is about $350 (Aus), I've got to save up
for that, unfortunately, coming back to the expense, most Australian kids
will miss out on that.
I wonder how Lego will fare in the racing games versus others (Crash Bandicoot,
Muppets etc, there are rather a lot on the PSX at least). I don't know how
they compare in price, but with Lego's reputation in Aus how many non AFOL
parents are going to overlook the Lego games in favour of others without
really looking at them? I don't know the answer to that question. It is my
feeling that if Lego want to rescue their sales by branching out into other
product lines that they first need to clean up the "core brick" part, which
leads us around in a big circle.
Deidre
drb@tasmail.com
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