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In lugnet.loc.il, Shiri Dori writes:
> Hey guys,
>
> I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there's not much chance of letters like
> that helping. I had a chance to talk to a LEGO employee who, IIRC, is pretty
> high in the marketing heirarchy, at Brickfest 2001. Her name is Peggy
> Connelly (I hope I got her name spelled right), and she explained to me that
> the chances of LEGO shipping to Israel are practically zero, because of the
> high MECHES (import taxes) and the small market. She was not just talking
> about a small AFOL market, but a small children's market, which evidently
> they have their sources to check this. I mentioned to her that, very
> possibly, not many Israelis buy LEGO since it is so expensive in Israel. She
> acknowledged that, but stayed in her position.
MECHES? AFAIK the import tax on toys is only 17% (I checked it when I started
buying Lego on ebay) hardly enough to explain the 100-200% markup we're used to
pay in Israel.
> Of course I would love to see S@H in Israel as much as you guys! But after
> this discussion I see very little hope for that happening. :-( (I'm usually
> a very optimistic person.) Plus, the people reading these letters or
> answering the phones, are not likely in any kind of position to make a
> difference. Their influence is probably very little...
>
> That is, of course, just my opinion, and you can feel free to continue
> trying. :-) Just my 2 agorot. :-)
I suspect you are right :-(
The chances are virtually zero, although I think it's for all the wrong
reasons. I mean - I don't think they have to wait for a new technological
breakthrough in order to write "ISRAEL" on the package. I think the main
problem is legal stuff to do with the rights of the local importer [1].
That's a shame because I think the importer is doing a poor job (although it's
possible I'm not seeing the big picture) with the marketing of Lego in Israel.
I agree with Yaron's observations - Lego becomes rarer and rarer, you mostly
see Bionicles and similar c*** and Lego usually sits with clone brands to the
point it's hard to tell the difference. And of course - the price, the price,
the price.
I think Lego is simply comfortable leaving the situation as it is, probably
thinking that the market in Israel is too small to bother with. They might be
right, but I have no doubt it could be much larger with proper marketing and
pricing.
IMO, The current situation is bad for Lego and for the children in Israel.
>
> -Shiri
> P.S. David, good to see you're back! How was - New Zealand, I think? Boy,
> that was a long time ago... Are you still living in Jerusalem?
Don't get me started, NZ was absolutely amazing! I miss it every day.
Extremely nice people, calm beyond belief (at least for an Israeli) and
probably the most beautiful place on earth.
Trekking, bungy, sky diving - you name it, I did it all.
Ahhhhhhh.
I'm still in Jerusalem although I did move to a new place.
Are you in the states? For how long?
Wishing I could also attend Brickfest,
- David
[1] I'm not sure but I think it's Kaufman something.
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: time to get what we want
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| (...) Yes, you were write, it was Kaufman until somewhere in the late 90's (I believe 97/98) but afterward (for some unknown peculiar reason) the import that Kaufman did stopped (some salesman from a little toy store told me) and that's why all the (...) (24 years ago, 5-Sep-02, to lugnet.loc.il, lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: time to get what we want
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| (...) Awesome! I've heard such good things about NZ. I hope I get a chance to visit there one day. A friend of mine just got from Ireland and now I have an apetite for that, too! (...) Cool, take care and be safe. My sister just finished her studies (...) (24 years ago, 5-Sep-02, to lugnet.loc.il)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: time to get what we want
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| (...) <snip> (...) Hey guys, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there's not much chance of letters like that helping. I had a chance to talk to a LEGO employee who, IIRC, is pretty high in the marketing heirarchy, at Brickfest 2001. Her name is Peggy (...) (24 years ago, 4-Sep-02, to lugnet.loc.il, lugnet.lego.direct)
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