Why Lego Isn’t (Just) a Toy Company | WSJ The Economics Of
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ม.ค. 2023
- Content helped build Lego into the world’s largest toy maker. Its movies, TV shows and video games take advantage of licensing deals with some of the world’s biggest brands, like Batman and Star Wars, to grow its customer base.
Photo illustration: Ryan Trefes
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#Lego #LegoMovie #WSJ
Let's not forget the quality and interchangeable aspects of their brand. Lego bricks and plates from the 70s and 80s (if they're in good condition) are still compatible with pieces nowadays.
Even the ones from the '60s still work
@@SeabooUsMultimedia Exactly proving my point even more so 👏
My legos were flooded in a container for months with rain water and they still are strong with no warping as new. (They just stink with old water smell)
I would say the Lego from 60s through 90s was the best quality and has since gone downhill.
LEGO is truly fit for all people. Using only a relatively small pool of standard parts, you can create anything. Also, depending on your technical competence, you can choose to build with traditional bricks and plates, or highly engineered products that closely mimic their RL counterparts using Technic pieces.
What also seperates lego is its utility. You take away the ip, the value in flipping, the nostalgia. Strip away all intangibles, you still have a interlocking brick system that is fun for everyone. you do that with barbie and all you have is a unposable mannequin.
I misread that last bit as “unstoppable mannequin” lol
The reason Lego changed from wood to plastic is because of a fire that burned down Ole Kirk Christiansen's wooden toy inventory in 1942. In fact this was actually the second fire Ole faced at his workshop. These tragedies would become part of a big comeback story, however. He took the first fire as an excuse to build a bigger workshop, stock market crashed in 1929, his wife died in 1932, and then facing financial disaster he let go of most of his staff. But he made a big decision, he decided to use his wood that he originally used for furniture to create cheap, wooden toys that would sell.
He slid into bankruptcy by doing this but he kept going, refusing to stop making toys. He changed his company's name to Lego (leg godt; play well) to reflect its new direction, and then when the second fire happened in 1942, he had enough to bounce back and move forward, deciding that wood was too prone to fire and jumped to plastic when traditional stuff used to produce goods weren't available. Using a plastic molding machine invented in the UK, Ole bought Denmark's first in 1946 and called the new product the "Automatic Binding Brick", a name in English rather than Danish to honor the Allies who liberated Denmark.
The adults sets have also branched out to ideas that aren't solely attached to licensed themes like their Botanical Collection, which has exploded in popularity online. Tapping into various niches from florists, artists, gamers, etc. has proven to be very beneficial.
The Architecture sets too - I have skylines of the cities I've lived in or traveled to, favorite buildings from around the world, etc. on my bookshelves!
@@alexbarnes6065 aérea
Yes, the Botanical Collection is great! I would love to have orchids, but they are poisonous to our cats. I saw decorative glass orchids in a trift store once, but cats would probably knock them off the table and shatter them, so I got a Lego orchid for my desk. It looks pretty good considering it's made out of plastic, it works as a fidget toy by popping a piece out and back in, and most importantly I can put it back together if the cats drop it off the table 😊
Was not expecting Bionicle to get as much screen time as it did.
hero factory better imo
Likely it is due to what LEGO the makers of the video grew up with.
You can build some cool stuff with those bricks.
Its literally a door to imagination. Thats what a toy needs to be all about; a way to connect your fantasy into reality
Agreed
As you show
Beyond the Brick is one of the best representation of what Lego means to adults, and what they can achieve.
I’ve been following for years. 🫡
I used LEGO bricks before. 'Twas a long time ago.
The genius of lego now is that they’ve almost grown up with the consumer where a person might have used to play with the kid legos now they have the huge adult centric legos that are currently offered.
And is totally overpriced in regard to their competitors...
Bionicle totally captured my imagination when I was about 7/8 years old. Surprised to see no mention of the Lego Star wars video games here, or the other Lego video games such as Lego racers. Those had a huge impact on my fondness of the brand
LEGO Star Wars and Ninjago are so awesome. Bionicle was the thing that started it all.
You know WSJ are people of culture when they include the holy figures of BIONICLE! Another thing Lego is doing to prosper in the Chinese market is opening four Legoland parks (owned by Merlin Entertainment) in Shenzhen, Chengdu, Beijing, and Shanghai. As well as creating sets specifically for a Chinese audience (though popular with others too) like Chinese New Year sets every year and a theme called Monkie Kid inspired by Journey to the West.
Wise words from the Great Leader! I have recorded them in my notebook to share with all the comrades in my village so we may apply your words and advance towards juche!!!
I had lego when I was a child and now my daughter has too. She plays with my vintage 90’s lego and I play with hers 😅
I like the constant innovation from Lego but I do miss the unbranded Lego from my childhood like medieval castles and space station..
A key point missed here is Legos sustainability efforts. This is hugely effecting the brand and the companies performance as they look to future proof the company and look after the planet
i legit don't care about sustainability. it's not an issue
@@Sanyu-Tumusiime L Opinion 💀
@@Sanyu-Tumusiime Okay, Sanyu! Thanks for the input. Now, why don't you see yourself out?
The fact that people fall for greenwashing of a company that produces crazy amounts of non-essential plastic is astonishing
@@thesenate5770 okay leftists. let me use whatever plastic i want and pollute. i come from the land of the plenty. we pollute as much as we want.
I really love watching the economic series. Thank you
The simplicity of the LEGO is the reason why they are widely accepted.
"Simple does is not necessarily mean easy...or soon". Lego takes the long term design strategy...where future investment in their core business: Bricks...is always the Priority...How many ways can the same brick be combined? It is only when absolutely necessary...a new brick is produced. The average set last more than twenty years...and increases in value over time. They have been around the block for a while...we expect them to be there...for a very long time.
Retired Archtect, still building with Lego.
Duplo was a great idea too, there are not so many toy options for 2+ and lego is the greatest of them all
One thing my brothers kept building with their Lego was a ship, sorta like a cruise liner, but more along the lines of a giant private yacht. Back then, I didn't own much Lego, so I preferred using Plasticine and still do prefer using modelling clay over Legos, though these days I build in Modded Minecraft (which once had a Lego texture pack for the Java edition).
It’s just a genius business model
There is no greater toy! I'm 39 years old and I still buy myself a new lego technics every month.
The videogames are also a big part of Lego. Usually great games with a big level of detail and very appealing for kids. The LEGO games were the ones I enjoyed most playing as a child
Never expected the Wall Street Journal to talk about Bionicle, lol
Really good video. Surprising depth for a mainstream news company. 10/10
It wasn't because the Chinese adults weren't interested in plastic toys, but things like Gunpla and anime figures seem to be more popular among male adults compared to Lego, at least in China
Really bare bones video, summed up in: lego big, lego grows, when problem, bionicle and licensed sets saved brand. Now licenses and media help it grow, particularly china where its new.
LEGO stimulates both logic and creativity and gives kids a good time. When one generation of kids discover girls we put the LEGO´s in a pillow case and wash them at lowest temperature in the washer and they are ready for next generation. I am close to 60 now and all the LEGO I got as a child are still fully usable today and I cannot say that about any other toy I had then. In my humble opinion, it are not only a great toy, but if you include its durability, it also are the cheapest.
As a business and marketing major, it feels so good to know how my studies is even related to toys 😍❤️
My 15 year old son wants a Lego set. I showed him with that much money he could get an electric scooter for adults. In a heartbeat he chose the scooter, and help him transport from home to school.
In essence, Lego set now is very expensive compared to other, but more practically useful, toys
Epic Games and Lego collabing is sounding like Lego Universe
It sounds like a fortnite crossover
Will launch soon.
This is great stuff. But man, do I miss when LEGO came up with good original themes like Bionicle, Hero Factory, Power Miners and Space Police... I just wish they did that along the licensed themes.
I saw HUGE BAGS of LEGOs at a local thrift store recently. Tons of them on eBay too.
The BIONICLE appreciation on display here is excellent! I was surprised, though, that there was no mention of Monkie Kid in the discussion of the LEGO Group's attempt to break into the Chinese market, being a reimagining of the classic work Journey to the West that seems to have managed the feat of both marrying the LEGO brand to a part of Chinese culture that's instantly recognisable to parents and producing media that's still engaging and relevant to its target childhood audience. In doing so, the LEGO Group's gone a step beyond what they managed with BIONICLE and, later, Ninjago by not only creating a genuinely great licensed theme-equivalent world without having to pay licence fees, as those two themes did, but also capturing the immediate marketing boost that a licensed theme would have by associating it with a familiar, understood cultural touchstone.
It's sad because what they show as "present" (the LEGO movie, 2014) was 10 years ago...a DECADE
And their customer service is just the best.
When it comes to licensing Lego did really expanded its range of licensed themes in the last three decades.
All recognizable movie franchises and heroes were made into Lego themes like Star Wars, Marvel superheroes, DC superheroes, Harry Potter/Fantastic beasts, Lord of the Rings/Hobbit, Jurassic World/Park, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Carribbean, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future and the latest blockbuster hit James Cameron's Avatar The Way of Water. The list includes the movie franchises that only appeared as part of other themes (like Lego Ideas, Lego Dimensions, Speeed Racers, Creator etc): James Bond, Fast and Furious, Mission Impossible, Home Alone and vintage movies like Beetlejuice, E.T. Goonies, A Team, Knight Rider, The Wizard of Oz , Gremlins, Tron.
Lego also made quite a few sets based popular TV shows like Friends, Seinfeld, The Office, The Big Bang Theory, Doctor Who, The Stranger Things, The Simpsons.
There are also a lot of Lego themes and sets based on popular animated films and series: many different Disney (and Pixar) sets and themes like Disney Princess, Mickey Mouse and friends, Winnie the Pooh, Frozen, Toy Story and all sorts Disney characters from all eras as collectable minifigures, we also had Looney Tunes, Scooby Doo, The Flintstones, Powerpuff Girls, Adventure Time, Ben 10, Spongebob, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Avatar The Last Airbender, The Muppets, Sesame Street, Voltron, Angry Birds, Trolls, Minions.
Lego also made sets based on popular video games, it started with Minecraft and expanded: Portal (though Dimensions), Overwatch, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario, Horizon Zero Dawn, and we'll soon have Final Fantasy and Zelda themes.
And last but not the least Lego made a partnership with Hasbro which gave first Transformers set and Dungeons and Dragons are also announced.
Lego Batman, Indiana Jones and Star Wars on consoles is really what saved the company.
BRING BIONICLE BACK PLEASE WE ARE ADULTS WITH JOBS NOW WE WANNA BUY OLD SETS LEGO COME ON
For anyone curious the kid who played Zach the Lego maniac became an architect when he grew up haha he used to work at my firm
I loved bionic!
Just waiting for the IPO.
stil have fond memories of playing racer and star wars with my brothers
I am 59 years old and been building Lego bricks since I was 10 years old. The longevity of the bricks and their use continues to amaze me every day.
Good journalism..
The impact on the ENVIRONMENT is incomprehensible
Lego has recently gone to "environmentally friendly" plastic that doesn't use as much fossil fuel. But they wear out and crack. So they just end up in landfills. Old lego was so tough that I have some in my house that is being played with by a fourth generation. Yes, they were my grandfather's and now they're my son's. I can't stand when companies greenwash themselves, by cutting back on quality. Making something that goes into a landfill instead of being passed down from generation to generation is not good for the planet. It is good for sales because as a product breaks, new product is purchased. Just ask Apple and Tesla.
Great observations, should be top comment. It hadn't dawned on me making a product biodegrade is a sneaky way of selling more product! Agree, corporate green-washing is downright insidious 💯💯
This is also because Lego has become the atomic blocks bank to build any to many of the biggest buildings in peoples hearts and minds and brains
What is the environmental cost of all that plastic?
I want to become one of the TOP LEGO designers 🤩
Lego should have a presence in west Africa
BIONICLE was mentioned for saving the company! As it should be!
BIONICLE
I'm actually very surprised that they only do 8b in revenue.
I still want Lego to make an official Zombie Apocalypse set.
I can imagine seeing these indestructible Lego bricks in the seabed for centuries later.
Yep, and the archeologists thinking there was a Lego Culture. In a way there is
Lego is awesome
Well even if lego is and was and will be a premium product it is of remarkable quality still have early 90's and late 80's lego from my early childhood that fits perfectly new lego and is in very good shape. Its durable as almost nothing these days. Its fun, creative and very easy to play with. It seems that it mostly fits kids that are growin up (young ones) for fantasy play, and then adults for complex building (and not rly playing with it). They do seem to have a gap in late teenagers (as well they have other things in head ;) ).
In very late 90's and early 2000's Lego didnt had any major known theme of their own. As in 80's and 90's you had Castle, City, Future/M-tron/Blacktron/Iceplane, Pirates, Technik. If you actually look at the sets from late 80's/early-mid 90's many of the bigger sets were so well desinged they are to these days considered classic or as a point of comparision. Just Compare Pirate ships or Space sets to the early 2000's - they dropped off.
Another thing is from what i've noticed later in 90's decade the market shifted. In 80-90's you had medieval movies, pirate movies, random space movies from Hollywood. But in late 90's and 2000's Some major theme's/fandoms crystalized. Combined with what i feel slight drop in quality of design of sents and Lego lacking any major franchise/system like they call it. They couldnt compete in marketing share/name. They rly made a smart moow and went in to join Star Wars/Pirates of Carribean, Batman etc. and then tried to make again their own brand (Lego movie and tried to return with pirates - but man that 2010 line was bad designed AF). This rly helped. Kids or adults who liked star wars were introduced to Lego, and at the same time Lego could introduce more of their own sets.
With the number of sets released yearly now i do find it hard to find such quality like in the more rare released late 80's and early 90's big sets, like Pirates, M-tron, Blacktron, Castle's, Even Techink truck with helicopter (as City wise lego sets are now better) as the franchise sets are limited by design or even $ (since lego has to pay up). But last decade rly made Lego go back to its core disgn and again it seems to pay off. What makes me happy as a fan.
this video makes me want to play with legos so bad even though i literally have legos in my room legos make me happy even thinking about it makes me happy :D
I have never bought a Lego set but I have been wanting to buy both of the FRIENDS sets
And you don’t even mention the research they do in polymer processing
The "present" example is almost 10 years old
You should do the economics of Whistlindiesel youtube channel video
Bionicle❤️
LEGO and Star Wars would be nothing to me if they hadn't got married in 1999.
Would be awesome if they built houses one day.
Wow
0:24
They are also good at making really good cartoon series when they want to
0:15
Ein sehr sehr sympatischer Grosskonzern der sich noch für seine Kunden einsetzt grüsse an den Helden
I saw people INVESTING in Lego sets now. Better ROI than trading cards and comic books they say 😂.
I won’t be surprised if they move into real estate at this point
I like legi but the theme park. The movies. The atarwars tie in etc.
It has definatly
"Jumped the shark".
Lego: Injuring feet since 1949.
I really like Lego but their prices are becoming ridiculous to me. I'm not a huge collector and will buy a set from time to time but ...Zuru Max is a much better price point for bulk bricks. Period. 700 plus Lego for 50 bucks or 1250 pieces Zuru Max for around 30. Duh. No kids even really want creative bulk bricks boxes now...they buy into all the expensive themed kits. Me too but they are NOT affordable now.
Bionicle saved lego
i have every single lego star wars set
now we just need lego onepiece
I remember bionicles
In China they have LEGO building kits that allow you to build a factory. It comes with netting to catch all of the workers trying to commit suicide.
You would think with all that money they're making, Lego would pay their employees better than a flat wage.
Up 17% last year but yet they had to raise the prices of sets that were already on store shelves. Greed is greed, there is never enough of a profit to be made, even by the largest toy company in the world. Then you constantly see sales across the board as retail outlets and Lego stores try to dump old stock to get warehouse and store shelf space ready for the next seasonal wave. Just points out the hypocrisy of saying that costs for them are increasing so they have to up the prices... until they have too many over-priced sets and then the sales come to reduce inventory. Perhaps if you kept the costs reasonably priced, they would sell and you wouldn't have to look like liars when you turn around months later and sell them at a lower cost than they were to begin with!
Lego is never a toy company for kids. As an adult I can't afford their skyhigh prices. They cost more than real bricks that I can build a house with.
Brickmania wow
Man... bionicle. I miss those days. But yeah... if Lego North America made a 5-6 ft minecraft unbreakable sword for $20-$30 I AM SO DOWN TO BUY IT!
As well if any Lego North American and EU worker's see my comment lost in the sea... PLEASE! CAN YOU GUYS COLLAB WITH ANY HIGH END FASHION LUXURY BRAND (LIKE VERSACE)?! I AM SO SERIOUSLY DOWN TO BUILD A LEGO X VERSACE COLLAB MEDUSA SET. ALSO GIVE ME CREDIT FOR THAT IDEA LEGO NORTH AMERICA AND LEGO EU... PLEASE AND THANK YOU! 👍
see toys still sell if you do it right and give it a twist
Lego is the Nike of toys
I mean I spent almost $3K on LEGO in 2021
why?wsj says lego makes civil engineering fun
LEGO likes to take all my money.
All really great until they said they are investing in the metaverse
Bye Lego 😢
*LEGO
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Hey Michael, VSauce here
Lego SUBNAUTICA
Yo you’re missing half of your information here…
More
Gamestop
They need to partner with Square Enix. The possibilities make my mouth water.
Meh…I’ll stick with bristle blocks for my kid. So glad we don’t have any legos.
😂😅,,,,,
First