Business has been so brisk at the world’s most profitable toymaker that Lego last year did something unusual: It began looking for ways to discourage customers from buying its products. The Danish company scaled back its advertising efforts amid a 25 percent rise in annual sales, according to Reuters. It simply couldn’t make enough toys to satiate demand in North America, and needed a break while it boosted capacity at its factories and increased its workforce by nearly 25 percent. “We feel we need to invest, to build some breathing space,” John Goodwin, Lego’s chief financial officer, told Reuters. Lego, a family-owned company founded in 1932, has enjoyed booming growth for decades. The company has released thousands of sets of its eponymous blocks, forging licensing deals with popular brands including Star Wars, Angry Birds and Disney Princesses. It has also taken on iconic architecture: A model of the U.S. Capitol building is for sale on Lego’s site for $99.99, while a White House set sells for $49.99.
A replica of the Ghostbusters firehouse, meanwhile, is listed for $349.99. The company’s dominance has also extended into the company’s six Legoland theme parks, 125 retail stores and dozens of video games. The Lego Movie, a full-length movie released in 2014, brought in $468.1 million at the box office. The company’s revenue has increased by an average of 15 percent a year in the past 12 years, according to Reuters. The efforts to quell demand seem to have worked — at least temporarily. Sales in the Americas remained flat during the first half of 2016, according to Reuters. (Revenue in Asia and Europe, meanwhile, continued to grow by double digits.) Overall, Lego’s revenue rose 11 percent to roughly $2.35 billion in the first half of the year, ahead of the $$1.83 billion reported by Mattel, the maker of Barbie. But executives at Lego are hoping to ramp up production in time for this year’s holiday season, Goodwin said: “We are working very closely with our retail partners to ensure that as we go into the important holiday season, the back half of 2016, that we’ve got all of the levers pulled to get back on the growth trajectory.”
The company is buildings its first factory in China, and is expanding existing plants in Mexico, Hungary and Denmark. Lego also hired 3,500 employees in the first half of the year, increasingly its workforce to 18,500, according to the Wall Street Journal. “In the past decade we have seen LEGO sales growth in the double digits year after year,” Goodwin said in a statement in October. “We are of course very excited about this development. [But] the high demand also puts a strain on our factories around the world.” Barbie’s other big image problem A tiny Lego version of Galileo rode on a NASA probe all the way to Jupiter American Girl’s pint-size antidote for its multimillion-dollar problemGet Our Free Weekly Email!For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes - join the 10m who get it. Don't miss outHere's our pick of the latest hot bargains and quick one-off deals. Most are short-lived so go quick, but remember Martin’s Money Mantras and know your consumer rights.Check back regularly as we update with new deals all the time...
FreebiesFREE Coca Cola or Aero at BootsNOW GONE: 1,000 totally FREE razors 50% off Legoland tix with �3ish spend11 FREE photo prints, incl deliveryTwo free Chessington tix with �6ish spendBooths FREE tea/coffee/hot chocolateWaitrose FREE tea/coffee�1 for 100-day Kids Pass (norm �25ish)FREE �5 Lego for kids EVERY MONTH10,000 FREE �5 kids' craft packsFREE �400 daily cash prize drawFREE Krispy Kreme doughnut100% verifiedWe check every deal, but if something's changed, please report it.Price checkEnsure you compare prices first, offers aren't necessarily cheapest.Shop safelyThere's a risk any company can struggle, so learn to Shop Safely.Food and drinkLidl fresh fruit & veg offers75p Easter eggs, incl Cadbury & Mars�1 WHSmith meal dealFREE Coke Zero Sugar (norm �1.35)Lidl up to half-price weekend dealsFree hot drink at Caff� Nero�50 for 144 Millie's cookies (usually �1ish each)Pizza Express �5 main course with O2 PriorityJ D Wetherspoon 99p coffee (unlimited refills)Co-op 10% off groceries for studentsGet Our Free Weekly Email!
Don't miss outHealth and beautyNOW GONE: 1,000 totally FREE razors 'Free' �7ish Benefit 'They're Real' mascara miniBoots discounts via appPhotos and technology11 FREE photo prints, incl deliveryCEWE 100 'free' prints (�2.95 delivery)Get 'free' PS4 games with PlayStation PlusGet 'free' Xbox One games with Xbox Live GoldXbox One: MoneySaving tips and tricksPS4: MoneySaving tips and tricksSat-nav deals, eg, free apps & �69 TomTomCheap digital compact & SLR camerasHot laptop deals, eg, �179 Acer, �239 HPTV deals, eg, �499 LG 49" Smart 4K TVFree St John Ambulance first aid Apple appReclaim (and listen to) lost Amazon musicFitness tracker deals, eg, �65 Fitbit Flex 2Get Our Free Weekly Email!Don't miss outGeneral'Posh' bedding, eg, �9 dbl duvet, 2 pillows �6Greggs FREE hot drink (norm up to �2)Earn �5 Swagbucks, get �15 M&S/Amazon vchFind hidden eBay local bargainsFree microchipping for dogs'Free' newspaper when you spend �10Students get 6mth's free Amazon next day delO2 Priority for EVERYONE!
Free Amazon Discount Finder tool BrickArms Brickmania Roaglaan's Customs BrickJournal LEGO® HomeSpecials and Featured Items Specials and Featured Items Custom BrickArms Tan Stahlhelm w/ Two Sided 3 Color Wehrmacht Print Custom BrickArms Gunmetal Stahlhelm w/ Two Sided 3 Color Wehrmacht Print Custom BrickArms Dark Gray Stahlhelm w/ Two Sided 3 Color Wehrmacht Print VAB 6x6 Armored Personnel Carrier British SAS is now in stock! CLICK HERE for more recent NEW RELEASES! You can forgive the LEGO Group the bittersweet timing of releasing their latest Speed Champions sets in the exact same week that the 2017 Formula 1 calendar is in its first week of pre-season testing in Barcelona. Image: Nick Sweetman Colour can go a long way in conjuring up a story, and by building Tracy’s pink bedroom, Brick Fanatics Nick Sweetman has conveyed an awful lot in just one setting. Are you a great LEGO photographer? A selection of new ancillary products have been released, available now at the central London LEGO Store and shop.
. The LEGO Batman plush is available in-store and online for £20.99 – as well as Bats himself, Batgirl is av... The annual Consumer Superbrands chart has seen LEGO move up to second place this year, demonstrating strong awareness for the brand with the general public. The Drum reports: The public were asked to consider each brand in relatio... There’s a whole new product launch at shop., with the online retailer offering up the latest sets from Marvel Super Heroes, Elves, Speed Champions and Minecraft. Some of the products have already been released in Nor... After touring several locations worldwide, the Art of the Brick: DC Super Heroes arrives today at London’s Southbank. The exhibit is the latest collection of models by renowned LEGO artist and LEGO Certified Professional Nat... In a recent interview, The LEGO Batman Movie director Chris McKay has revealed an intriguing nugget of information about the much anticipated sequel to the LEGO Movie. Screencrush quote the animation expert as saying: LEGO 2 is go...