Timeless Lego bricks withstand the pandemic crisis and lockdown. And, while other companies in the sector recorded losses and declines in sales, the Danish company recorded a + 7% turnover in the first six months of 2020. This is mainly due to e-commerce, as pointed out by CEO Niels Christiansen, announcing data last week.
“During the first half, we saw the benefits of our investments in long-term growth initiatives, such as e-commerce and product innovation. Our broad portfolio has attracted builders of all ages, our platform and global agile supply chain have enabled us to meet online demand ยป. Thus, sales increased by 14%, turnover grew by about 2 billion (15.7 billion Danish crowns) and operating profit by 520 million (+ 11%) in six months.
“Many of the major trends shaping our industry, such as digitization and e-commerce, are accelerating as a result of the pandemic,” Christiansen explained. In the first half of the year, visitors to the Lego platform were over 100 million, double compared to the same period of 2019. But the company intends to invest again also in the offline, with the opening of 120 new stores in 2020, 80 of the such as in China. “We continue to see great opportunities in an omnichannel model.”
History: from a carpentry workshop to a world leader
The Lego group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen. Born into a poor family, Kristiansen began working as a carpenter at a very young age. He sets aside a small sum, which allows him to open his own carpenter’s shop in Billund. In 1924 a fire destroyed the shop. But the damage doesn’t stop the future entrepreneur. Kristiansen rebuilds the workshop, expands it and begins to produce wooden toys as well as furniture. Lego will be born from that small laboratory.
The name is an abbreviation of the Danish words “leg godt” which mean “play well”. Passed down from father to son, the company is now owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, grandson of the founder. And it is currently the largest toy manufacturer in the world by profit and turnover. Read the full story here.