Global growth ensures strong 2014 result for the LEGO Group Strong performance of product lines, such as LEGO® City, LEGO Creator as well as THE LEGO® MOVIE™ products contributed to sales growth in all regions of the world and led to a highly satisfactory annual result for the LEGO Group with sales increasing to 28.6 billion DKK. “In 2014 we increased our sales by 15 percent. I am proud that we delivered high quality creative play experiences to millions of children all over the world. This resulted in a highly satisfactory result for us, and it remains our aspiration to be the best at what we do,” says Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, President and CEO of the LEGO Group. Read the full Annual Report 2014 here. Read the Responsibility Report 2014 here. Double digit sales growth in all regions In 2014 the LEGO Group continued recent years’ strong growth in sales, outperforming the global toy market development. All LEGO Group market regions experienced double digit sales growth while the traditional toy market in most countries grew by low single digit rates.
In the LEGO Group’s largest market, the US, sales grew double digit as did sales in the UK, France, Russia and China, while Central and Northern European markets achieved healthy single digit growth rates. Among the top selling lines in 2014 were core themes like LEGO® City, LEGO® Star Wars™ and LEGO Friends. LEGO Creator and LEGO Technic experienced high growth rates during the year, and a significant contributor to the strong sales growth in 2014 was THE LEGO® MOVIETM product line which launched in conjunction with the release of THE LEGO MOVIE feature film in early 2014. The product line performed strongly across the full year. “Our ability to innovate and reinvent the LEGO play experience every year is vital for our success. We are dedicated to create new products that are fun and appealing to children all over the world. Through our products we provide children with a tool to express their imagination. At the same time we continuously want to deliver play experiences that are safe and of the highest quality, and we have impeccable safety and quality standards.
2014 was our 5th consecutive year without a product recall which remains our ambition level for 2015,” says Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, adding: “Looking at the products we have developed for 2015 I feel confident that we will bring joy to even more children in the coming year.” In the coming years the global toy market is expected to continue to grow low single digit. “Due to our continued focus on innovation and commitment to global expansion we expect to grow moderately ahead of the market in the future, while remaining committed to our continued aspiration to deliver the greatest play experiences possible to children all over the world,” says John Goodwin, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. 85 million children reached in 2014 The LEGO Group strategy of globalising operations further has enabled the company to reach more children in markets where the LEGO Group already have a strong presence as well as new parts of the world where LEGO play is relatively new to the consumers.
“We estimate that more than 85 million children across the world had a LEGO play experience during 2014. This has only been possible through an ongoing focus on building our capabilities globally during 2014 from manufacturing to sales, as well as developing great products that appeal to children across cultures and geographies,” says John Goodwin. Building the organisation of the future As a consequence of the LEGO Group’s ambition to globalise its activities, an increased focus has been placed on attracting a more diverse, global workforce. During 2014 two main offices have been opened in Shanghai and London to supplement the main offices in Singapore and Enfield, US, and the headquarters in Billund, Denmark. All of these five locations are to have significant top management presence. In addition to setting up main offices, the LEGO Group significantly increased already extensive investments globally to re-enforce the company’s commitment to expand its market presence, and consumer experiences in the future.
As a result of the LEGO Group’s commitment to build an organisation to support the further globalisation of the LEGO play experience, the number of employees in the company grew by 893 to 14,762 employees by the end 2014 compared to 13,869 at the end 2013. “Our dedicated and highly engaged employees around the world can proudly take credit for our strong performance in 2014. In addition, welcoming even more new employees adds to our current diversity, brings new inspiration and new ways of working to our company, so I am pleased that so many employees joined us in 2014, amongst them the two new members of the LEGO Group’s Management Board,” says Jørgen Vig Knudstorp. Press Officer, the LEGO Group ph: +45 7950 4348Lego Says 2015 Was Its ‘Best Year Ever,’ With Huge Sales JumpLego Group reported astounding revenue growth for 2015, up 25% from the prior year as it estimated the company's popular construction sets and toys reached an estimated 100 million children.
The strong performance built upon years of success as the Danish-based toy maker has cultivated a very loyal following by selling a mix of traditional Lego sets and licensed properties linked to Star Wars, The Avengers, Batman and other popular franchises. Lego's results also extended a strong sales jump in 2014, when toy sales were up 13% as results were greatly boosted by the company's first major motion picture film, "The Lego Movie.""This has been the best year ever for the Lego Group," Lego Chief Executive Jørgen Vig Knudstorp told analysts during a video presentation. Vig Knudstorp was so enthusiastic about the results that he leaped into the air in front of the press, saying "If I could sing and dance, I should be singing and dancing because it is a fantastic number of results."Lego's growth has been astonishing. It reported annual sales of about $2.3 billion in 2010 and just five years later, reported revenue of about $5.2 billion (those figures were converted from the Danish krone).