 Logo used since 1998 | |
| The Lego Group | |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Toys |
| Founded | 10 August 1932; 92 years ago (1932-08-10) |
| Founder | Ole Kirk Christiansen |
| Headquarters | , Denmark |
Number of locations | 42 offices (2017) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
| Products | Lego |
| Revenue |  43.7 billionkr.[3] (2021) |
| 17.0 billion kr.[3] (2021) | |
| 13.3 billion kr.[3] (2021) | |
| Total assets | 48.0 billion kr.[3] (2021) |
| Owners |
|
Number of employees | 24,484[3] (March 2021) |
| Website | lego.com |
Lego A/S,[5] also known asThe Lego Group, is a Danishconstruction toy production company based inBillund, Denmark.[6] It manufacturesLego-branded toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. The Lego Group has also built severalamusement parks around the world, each known asLegoland, and operates numerous retail stores.
The company was founded in 1932, byOle Kirk Christiansen.[7] The nameLego is derived from theDanish phraseleg godt, meaning "play well". In the first half of 2015, The Lego Group became the world's largest toy company byrevenue, with sales amounting toUS$2.1 billion, surpassingMattel, which had US$1.9 billion in sales.[8][9]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(August 2021) |
The Lego company was founded in 1932 byOle Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter whose primary business of producing household goods had suffered due to theGreat Depression. Initially producing wooden toys, the company later developed a system of interlocking bricks. Manufacturing of plastic Lego bricks began in Denmark in 1947. After a fire in the woodworking department, Ole's son, Godtfred, decided to stop the production of wooden toys and solely focus on plastic products and the Lego system. He also built an airport in Billund to facilitate the sale of Lego toys around the world.
In North America,Samsonite managed the Lego brand from 1961 until 1972 (United States) and 1986 (Canada).
The name Lego is a contraction of the Danish words: "Leg godt" (English: "Play well"). However, the name also means in Latin either "I collect", "I compose", "I choose", or "I read". These additional meanings, the first three of which are very relevant, only made sense when the company started making plastic blocks with studs (Lego blocks) so that they could be put together.
The basic LEGO brick has remained unchanged since its patent, and this enduring design has been associated with the toy’s widespread popularity. These bricks have become a recognizable part of childhood in many parts of the world. The LEGO Group, which has remained family-owned by the Christiansen family, was among the first inductees to the U.S. National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998. Additionally, it was recognized as “Toy of the Century” by several organizations in 2000.[10] LEGO bricks have been utilized in various creative projects, including large-scale replicas of famous monuments such as the Eiffel Tower and Mount Rushmore, as well as modern art installations.
In the 21st century, the LEGO brand expanded into various electronic games, including a series of Minifigure-based action-adventure games inspired by popular cultural franchises such asStar Wars,Batman,Marvel Comics, and theHarry Potter series. The brand also releasedThe LEGO Movie (2014), a computer-animated feature film centered on the adventures of LEGO Minifigures. A spin-off,The LEGO Batman Movie (2017), focused on one of the characters introduced in the original film.[11]
Since the expiry of the last standing Lego patent in 1989,[12] several companies have produced interlocking bricks that are similar to Lego bricks. The toy companyTyco Toys produced such bricks for a time; other competitors includeMega Bloks andBest-Lock. These competitor products are typically "compatible" with Lego bricks, and are often marketed at a lower cost than Lego sets.
One such competitor is Coko, manufactured byChinese company Tianjin Coko Toy Co., Ltd. In 2002, Lego Group's Swiss subsidiary Interlego AG sued the company forcopyright infringement. A trial court found many Coko bricks to be infringing; Coko was ordered to cease manufacture of the infringing bricks, publish a formal apology in theBeijing Daily, and pay a small fee in damages to Interlego. On appeal, the Beijing High People's Court upheld the trial court's ruling.[13]
In 2003, the Lego Group won a lawsuit in Norway against the marketing group Biltema for its sale of Coko products, because the company used product confusion for marketing purposes.[14]
Also in 2003, a large shipment of Lego-like products marketed under the name "Enlighten" was seized byFinnish customs authorities. The packaging of the Enlighten products was similar to official Lego packaging. Their Chinese manufacturer failed to appear in court, and thus Lego won a default action ordering the destruction of the shipment. Lego Group footed the bill for the disposal of the 54,000 sets, citing a desire to avoid brand confusion and protect consumers from potentially inferior products.[15]
In 2004,Best-Lock defeated a patent challenge from Lego in the Oberlandesgericht, Hamburg.
The Lego Group has attempted to trademark the "Lego Indicia", the studded appearance of the Lego brick, hoping to stop production ofMega Brands. On 24 May 2002, theFederal Court of Canada dismissed the case, asserting the design was functional and therefore ineligible for trademark protection.[16] The Lego Group's appeal was dismissed by the Federal Court of Appeal on 14 July 2003.[17] In October 2005, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that "Trademark law should not be used to perpetuate monopoly rights enjoyed under now-expired patents" and held that Mega Bloks can continue to manufacture their bricks.[18]
Because of fierce competition from copycat products, the company has always responded by being proactive in its patenting and has over 600 United States–granted design patents to its name.[19]
In 2003, the Lego Group faced a budget deficit ofkr. 1.4 billion (US$220 million at then-current exchange rates; equal to€175 million),[20] causingPoul Plougmann to be replaced byKjeld Kirk Kristiansen as president. In the following year, almost one thousand employees were laid off, due to budget cuts. However, in October 2004, on reporting an even larger deficit, Kristiansen also stepped down as president, while placing kr. 800 million of his private funds into the company.[21]
In 2005, the Lego Group reported a 2004 net loss of kr. 1,931 million on a total turnover, including Legolandamusement parks, of kr. 7,934 million.
For 2005, the company returned a profit of kr. 702 million, having increased its revenue by 12% to kr. 7,050 million in 2005 against kr. 315 million in 2004. It also cut expenditures and disposed of amusement parks and a factory inSwitzerland.
In 2011, sales for the company grew 11%, rising from US$2,847 million in 2010 to US$3,495 million in 2011. Profit for the 2011 fiscal year increased from US$661 million to US$776 million. The increased profit was due to the enormous popularity of the new brandNinjago, which became the company's biggest product introduction ever.[22]
In 2012, it was reported that the Lego Group had become the world's most valuable toy company ahead ofMattel with a value of over US$14.6 billion.[23]
The Lego Group delivered a turnover of kr. 14,142 million in the first half of 2015 with an increase of 18% compared with the same period in 2014 measured in local currency (i.e. excluding the impact of foreign exchange rate changes). Net profit for the first half of 2015 was kr. 3,553 million compared with kr. 2,715 million for the first half of 2014. First half-year sales were driven by double-digit growth across all geographical regions and strong product innovation on themes such asLego Ninjago,Lego Elves andLego Creator.[24]
The Lego Group announced on 4 September 2017 its intention to cut1,400 jobs following reduced revenue and profit in the first half of the year, the first reported decrease in 13 years.[25] The revenue losses are due to a more competitive environment, where the company has to compete not only against its traditional competitorsHasbro andMattel, but also against technology companies such asSony orMicrosoft as more children use mobile devices for entertainment.[26] The job cuts account for 8 per cent of the company's total workforce.[25] In May 2018, the company made it toForbes Top 100 World's Most Valuable Brands 2018,[27] being 97th on the list.
The Lego Group has built elevenamusement parks around the world, each known asLegoland. Each park features large-scale Lego models of famous landmarks and miniature Lego models of famous cities, along with Lego-themed rides. The first Legoland park was built in Lego's home town ofBillund in Denmark in 1968. This was followed byLegoland Windsor Resort in Windsor, England,Legoland California inCarlsbad, United States andLegoland Deutschland Resort inGünzburg, Germany. In addition, Legoland Sierksdorf was opened in 1973 but soon closed in 1976.
In July 2005, the Lego Group announced that it had reached a deal with private investment companyBlackstone Inc. to sell all four parks for€375 million to the Blackstone subsidiaryMerlin Entertainments. Under the terms of the deal, the Lego Group would take a30% share in Merlin Entertainments and positions on their board.[28] The sale of the theme parks was part of a wider strategy to restructure the company to focus on the core business of toy products.
In 2010, Merlin Entertainments opened the first Legoland water park at the Legoland California site. On 15 October 2011, Merlin Entertainments opened their first new Legoland park,Legoland Florida, inWinter Haven, Florida. It is the largest Legoland opened to date at 145 acres, and only one of the Legoland parks opened in the United States. The other Legoland (opened at a later date)water park was opened near the same location on 26 May 2012 after only four months of construction.
Merlin Entertainments opened their second new Legoland park inIskandar Puteri, Malaysia under the nameLegoland Malaysia Resort on 22 September 2012.[29] It is the first Legoland in Asia and was quickly followed by another Lego-themed water park in the same area. The first Lego hotel has also opened near the site. People who stay in the hotel will also get tickets to the theme park and water park.[30] The September 2016 they opened Legoland Dubai. In addition, they opened four newLegoland Discovery Centres, which take the Legoland concept and scale it down to suit a retail park environment.
Legoland Japan Resort was opened in 2017 inNagoya, Japan.
Legoland Water Park Gardaland inCastelnuovo del Garda,Italy andLegoland New York inGoshen, New York, the largest of ten Legoland parks as of 2024, was opened in 2021.
In June 2019, the Lego Group purchased the remaining shares in Merlin Entertainments which they did not own and privatised the company.[31] This returned the operation of the Legoland parks to the control of the Lego Group.
The Lego Group operates 171 retail stores in North America and Europe (99 in the United States, 19 in the United Kingdom, 18 inGermany, 13 inCanada, 9 inFrance, 6 inPoland, 3 in Denmark, 4 inthe Netherlands, 2 inAustria, 2 inBelgium, 2 inSweden, 2 inSpain, 1 inIsrael, 2 inIreland.[32] and some inItaly). The Lego Group also franchised its store brand to theMajid Al Futtaim Group, which opened 6 stores in 2015 (4 in theUnited Arab Emirates, and 2 inKuwait).[33] In 2023 there is a total of 423 stores operated by franchisees, mostly in Australia, Asia and South America.[34]
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "The Lego Group" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
October 2002 saw a significant change in the Lego Group's direct retail policy with the opening of the first so-calledLego Brand Store inCologne, Germany. The second, inMilton Keynes, UK, followed quickly – several dozen more opened worldwide over the next few years, and most of the existing stores have been remodelled on the newBrand Store template. One of the distinctive features of these new stores is the inclusion of a "Pick-A-Brick" system that allows customers to buy individual bricks in bulk quantities. The opening of most of these stores, including the 2003 opening of one in theBirmingham Bull Ring shopping centre in England, has been marked by the production of a new, special, limited edition, commemorative Lego Duplo piece.
Lego opened the first brand store in its home country Denmark in Copenhagen on 13 December 2010. In 2016, three stores opened in Italy: one inMilan, one in the shopping centre near theMilan Bergamo Airport inBergamo, and another inVerona. On 18 August 2022, Ireland's first Lego store was opened inDublin onGrafton Street.[35] On 2 December 2022, an official store was opened inBrescia, bringing the total number of Lego stores in Italy to 29.[36] In 2023 there were a total of 66 stores in Europe, which are operated by Lego itself. InLondon atLeicester Square, there is the former largest Lego store in the world, with an area of 805 m2.[37] The first Lego store is expected to open doors inSofia, Bulgaria on 19 December 2023 in the largest shopping centre in the city'sParadise Center.[38]
In 1992, when theMall of America opened inBloomington, Minnesota, one of its premier attractions was the Lego Imagination Center (LIC). An imagination centre is a large Lego store with displays of Lego sculptures and a play area with bins of bricks to build with. The store inventory includes a large selection of Lego sets for sale, including sets which are advertised in Lego catalogues as "Not Available in Any Store". A second imagination centre opened at theDisney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney) atWalt Disney World inOrlando,Florida. Between 1999 and 2005, Lego opened 24 further stores in North America in 23 states. As of 2023, 112 Lego stores are operating in North America in 35 US states and five Canadian provinces.[34] These stores sell various Lego merchandise, includingminifigures, Pick-a-Brick, and custom packaged minifigures.
The first Lego store in India was opened inChennai,Tamil Nadu in March 2014 byFunskool, under licence from the Lego Group.[39] But India's only operating Lego store in 2023 opened inMumbai International Airport duty-free in 2021.[40]
The first Lego store in Israel was opened on the third floor of theDizengoff Center in July 2022.[41]
Lego Interactive (formerly Lego Media and later Lego Software) was the video game publishing division of the Lego Group.[42] The company was founded as Lego Media in 1996 and headquartered in London, England.[43] In February 1999, Lego Media announced their move into the girls' software industry, starting withLego Friends.[44] In May 2002, the company announced that begin distributing its titles throughElectronic Arts.[45] Eventually, the Lego Group opted out of the video game business and Lego Interactive was shut down in 2004.[46][failed verification] Former Lego Interactive staff openedGiant Interactive Entertainment to publish futureLego titles, which later became part ofTT Games.[46]
Lego Media also operated amotion picture division, which produced theBBC children's seriesLittle Robots forCosgrove Hall Films.[47] In 2003, this division was rebranded to Create TV and Film Limited and became independent from the Lego Group under Lego's majority ownerKirkbi A/S, which allowed Create TV and Film to branch onto other projects.[48][49][50] The company later producedBionicle: Mask of Light,Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui andBionicle 3: Web of Shadows forCreative Capers Entertainment.[51] In 2005, Kirkbi A/S sold Create TV and Film to itschief executive officer, Vanessa Chapman, and the company was renamed Create Media Ventures Limited. The sale includedLittle Robots but excluded the Bionicle movies, which were retained by the Lego Group.[52] Create was later dissolved in August 2016.[53]
Lego products aremass-produced, packaged and shipped on a large scale.
Lego Produktion AG was a major production facility for Lego. It was founded in Switzerland in 1974.[54] At the time of its announced closing in 2001, 30% of the world's production of Lego was produced at the Swiss facility inBaar.[55] The Baar facility eventually closed in 2004.[56]
 | This sectionreads likea press release ora news article and may belargely based onroutine coverage. Please helpimprove this article and addindependent sources.(November 2022) |
In 2014, Lego announced that it would not renew its promotional contract withShell following aGreenpeace campaign protesting Shell’s plans to drill in theArctic. Lego CEOJørgen Vig Knudstorp expressed frustration at the company being used to target Shell, while Greenpeace insisted that firms like Lego should also consider their business partners' environmental impact.[57][58]
Lego acknowledges the impact of its operations on the environment, in particular in areas such as climate change, resource and energy use and waste. All manufacturing sites are certified according to the environmental standard ISO 14001. The first Borkum Riffgrund 1 wind turbines off the coast of Germany began producing electricity in February 2015, which would help the Lego Group reach its goal of being based 100% on renewable energy by 2020.[59]
The company claims to recycle 90% of its waste and that it has made its operations nearly one-third more energy efficient over the five years ending on 31 December 2013.[60][61] It is seeking alternatives tocrude oil as the raw material for its bricks.[62] In June 2015, this resulted in the establishment of the Lego Sustainable Materials Centre, which is expected to recruit more than 100 employees, as a significant step towards the 2030 ambition of finding and implementing sustainable alternatives to current materials.[63]
In 2023, online magazineWired reported that Lego has faced challenges in transitioning from traditionalacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene plastic to more sustainable materials due to the difficulties in achieving the necessary durability and production efficiency. Despite previous commitments to reduce plastic waste, the company's recent efforts to create bricks from recycled plastic bottles did not result in the anticipated sustainable alternatives, as the production process resulted in a higher carbon footprint than anticipated.[64]
In 2024, investigative journalism by Danish news broadcasterDR revealed that the Kirk Kristiansen family, owners of Lego, operate three private jets that have flown over 1,000 times between 2020 and 2023, often to destinations linked to vacations and events related to the family's hobby of horse riding. As private aviation is emitting considerable amounts ofgreenhouse gasses, reports raise concerns about the contrast between the family's private activities and Lego's public commitment to sustainability.[65]
In January 2014, a handwritten letter to Lego from a seven-year-old American girl, Charlotte Benjamin, received widespread attention in the media. In it, the young author complained that there were "more Lego boy people and barely any Lego girls" and observed that "all the girls did was sit at home, go to the beach, and shop, and they had no jobs, but the boys went on adventures, worked, saved people … even swam with sharks".[66][67]
In June 2014, it was announced that Lego would be launching a new "Research Institute" collection featuring female scientists including a female chemist, palaeontologist, and astronomer.[67][68] The science-themed project was selected as the latestLego Ideas winner and was submitted by Ellen Kooijman, a geochemist in Stockholm.[69] Lego denied claims that the set was introduced to placate criticism of the company by activists, pointing to its Lego Ideas origins. The Research Institute range sold out within a week of its online release in August 2014. The BBC's Tom de Castella reported that Kooijman was pleased with the set's final design, despite the addition of face makeup to her original proposal, and thatBecky Francis, professor of education and social justice atKing's College London, who had been "very, very disappointed" by Lego Friends, is a fan.[70]
In June 2021, Lego released a set entitled "Everyone Is Awesome" to celebrate and recognize theLGBTQ+ community. The set includes over 300 pieces and has 11 monochrome minifigures in the colours of theRainbow flag.[71]
In October 2021, Lego Group launched a campaign named "Ready for Girls" as part of its celebration of the UN'sInternational Day of the Girl. The company also announced its plan to remove gender stereotypes from the toy(s) following a review of a study commissioned by theGeena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.[72]
On 3 March 2022, during the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the LEGO Foundation stated it would donate approximately US$16.5 million to organizations includingUNICEF,Save the Children, and the DanishRed Cross for emergency relief efforts.[73]
In April 2022, The LEGO Foundation announced the launch of the company's $20 million play-based learning initiative. The grant programme launched as part of Autism Acceptance Month, is in support of innovative play-based learning for neurodivergent children and turn, will award funding to 25 enterprises in support of innovative learning forautistic children and children withADHD.[74]
Below are historical images of the Lego logo throughout the company's existence.[75]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)55°44′00″N09°07′15″E / 55.73333°N 9.12083°E /55.73333; 9.12083
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
