Company Profile
Company Profi le
An introduction to the LEGO Group
2009
Company Profi le 2009 1
Contents
It all began in 1932
3
LEGO Group in key fi gures
4
Moving to the future
5
The LEGO Group
6
Idea and production
7
Toy of the Century
8
LEGO products for all children
12
The minifi gure
13
LEGOLAND Parks
14
LEGO
Community
15
Learning through play
17
Fun LEGO Facts
18
Using the LEGO brand name
19
It all began in 1932 ...
The founder, Ole Kirk Christiansen, Child’s play is an ever-changing
hit upon the LEGO® name in 1934. world, and the company’s product
He took the fi rst two letters of the development departments therefore
Danish words LEG GODT, meaning work systematically with the evo-
“play well”, and put them together –
lution of familiar play themes and
quite unaware that one meaning of
product lines based on research
the word in Latin is ... “I put together”.
among children and parents into
Today – many years later – LEGO is
things like play habits, family pat-
both the name and the idea behind
terns and housing conditions. Added
the company. Play is a key element
to this is the fact that a combination
in children’s growth and develop-
of systematisation, logic and unlim-
ment, and play
ited creativity ac-
stimulates the
It is LEGO philosophy that “good
tivates learning
imagination, the play” enriches a child’s life – and through play in a
emergence of its subsequent adulthood. With
very special LEGO
ideas, and cre-
this in mind, the LEGO Group has way which – in an
ative expression. developed and marketed a wide
age of increasing
It is LEGO philos-
range of products, all founded
demands upon
ophy that “good
on the same basic philosophy
the child’s learn-
play” enriches a
of learning and developing
ing and ability to
child’s life – and
– through play.
solve complex
its subsequent
problems – ca-
adulthood. With
ters uniquely for
this in mind, the LEGO Group has tomorrow’s child. It is for this reason
developed and marketed a wide that the LEGO system is frequently
range of products, all founded on cited by many leading organisations
the same basic philosophy of learn-
and individuals as a specially cre-
ing and developing – through play.
ative play material used in learning
contexts by institutions and schools
True to its motto – Only the best is
throughout the world.
good enough – the LEGO Group
has emphasised the importance The child of the future will have plen-
of high quality throughout its more ty of things to play with. Consumer
than 75-year history, ensuring that electronics is a tough competitor to
consumers return to LEGO products
traditional toys. But the LEGO Group
again and again. At the same time is in no doubt that the LEGO brick
the LEGO system means that many
will continue in future to be relevant
thousands of building elements can
to children of all ages. A world of
be easily combined in innumerable
imagination and total absorption.
ways – and just as readily disman-
Putting two LEGO bricks together
tled again. The more LEGO bricks is intuitive and delivers the sponta-
you have, the more fertile your cre-
neous joy of creation which can be
ativity can become, and there are supplemented – but never replaced
hours of play in the LEGO brick that
– by electronic experiences.
you don’t fi nd elsewhere.
Company Profi le 2009 3
LEGO Group in key fi gures
The LEGO Group ended 2008 with a
global market for traditional toys
highly satisfactory result. The result
saw a moderate decrease in 2008.
before tax - a surplus of DKK 1,852
Also in 2008, the classic product
million - exceeded all expectations
lines like LEGO City, LEGO Creator,
for the year, and the LEGO Group’s
LEGO Technic and LEGO Star Wars
net sales rose by 18.7% from DKK accounted for most of the increased
8,027 million in 2007 to DKK 9,526 sales.
million in 2008.
Moreover, the licensed product line
All the LEGO Group’s markets saw LEGO Indiana Jones achieved con-
signifi cant sales increases in 2008 siderably higher sales than expect-
- despite the fact that, overall, the ed at the beginning of the year.
Financial Highlights - LEGO Group
( million DKK )
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
Income Statement:
Revenue
9,526
8,027
7,798
7,027
6,295
Expenses
(7,522)
(6,556)
(6,393)
(6,605)
(6,394)
Operating profi t/(loss) before special
items
2,004
1,471
1,405
423
(99)
Impairment of non-current assets
(20)
24 270
86
(677)
Restructuring expenses
11 (
6
46)
(350)
(129)
(136)
Financial income and expenses
(248)
(35)
(44)
(51)
(75)
Profi t/(loss) before income tax
1,
1,852
414
1,281
329
(987)
Profi t/(loss), continuing activities
1,352
1,028
1,290
214
(1,284)
Profi t/ (loss), discontinuing activities
–
-
-
-
(516)
Net profi t/(loss) for the year
1,352
1,028
1,290
214
(1,800)
Employees:
Average number of employees (full time) 5,388
4,199
4,908
5,302
5,603
Company Profi le 2009 4
Moving to the future
The LEGO Group is now more than half-
At the same time, the LEGO brick is con-
way through its seven-year strategy, ini-
tinuously revitalised in the virtual world.
tiated in 2004. The strategy is known as
Not only in the form of online activities
Shared Vision and aims to rebuild the on www.LEGO.com, but also by means
company and revitalise the LEGO brand
of electronic games for the popular
as a synonym for creative building fun game platforms.
and role play.
The LEGO Group’s main objectives are:
Relocation and restructuring
Fashion and trends in the toy industry
- to lead the industry in creating value
are changing faster than ever, and it be-
for our customers and sales channels
comes increasingly diffi
cult to predict
- to refocus on the value we off er our
children’s toys preferences. At the same
consumers
time, the market for traditional toys is
- to increase operational excellence
characterised by low-price products,
which forces the toy makers to pro-
The strategy for the years up to 2010 duce high-quality toys at low costs. As
underlines the continued importance a consequence, many toy makers have
of focusing on building a profi table and
decided, in recent years, to outsource
sustainable business platform for the labour-intensive parts of production to
Group’s future development. In 2008 the
low-pay countries. The LEGO Group has
LEGO Group also entered into a growth
also done so to some extent.
phase with the purpose of achieving an
annual, organic growth rate of 3-7%.
Today the LEGO Group has production
facilities in Denmark, Eastern Europe
The situation facing all toy manufac-
and Mexico. The new production facili-
turers is that they are pressured from ties in Mexico and Eastern Europe have
many quarters – by consumers, custom-
been chosen for their proximity to the
ers and competitors. The LEGO Group Group’s main markets in Europe and
meets this challenge with a determina-
the USA. The relocation process began
tion to bind consumers, fans and retail-
in 2006 and will continue in the coming
ers even closer to the organisation. It years. The most specialised and skills-
continues to be the LEGO Group’s pri-
related LEGO products will still be manu-
mary purpose to supply good play – factured at the Group’s Danish plant
developing children and helping them in Billund. This is being done in order
to face the challenges of tomorrow. At to preserve important skills in mould-
the same time the Group will continue ing, processing and packing within the
to improve its product range so that its
Group’s own organisation. These facili-
latest products will always be ready to ties will also be supported by a produc-
face the competition, for example, from
tion technologies R&D unit - a so-called
a sea of electronic products.
concept centre - which is established in
conjunction with the remaining produc-
As far as consumers are concerned, the
tion facility in Billund.
most visible changes have taken place
in product development. New products
and product lines have been centred
on the classic product idea, the LEGO
brick – and perpetual themes such as
City, Castle, Pirates and Vikings have re-
ceived a new lease of life.
Company Profi le 2009 5
The LEGO Group
The LEGO Group has a global workforce of approx. 7,000 people.
Corporate Management comprises:
The Chief Executive Offi
cer, the Chief Financial Offi
cer and four
Excutive Vice Presidents, each with their own business area.
Chief Executive Offi
cer
Markets &
Community,
Corporate
Global Supply
Corporate
Products
Education
Centre
Chain
Finance
& Direct
Markets & Products
Community, Education &
Corporate Centre (CC) Global Supply Chain Corporate Finance is
(M&P) has global re-
Direct (CED) is respon-
covers the administrative
(GSC) is the business responsible for fi nancial
sponsibility for prod-
sible for direct contact
service departments:, IT,
area responsible for the
management and con-
uct development, mar-
with consumers via Human Resources, Cor-
Group’s supply chain -
trolling as well as follow
keting and sales.
brand retail stores, online
porate Communications,
from procurement and up on business planning
sales, and mail order. In
Corporate Governance production to shipping and strategic initiatives.
addition this business
& Sustainability and Cor-
and distribution to the
area handles contacts
porate Legal Aff airs.
retail trade.
with fans and the devel-
opment of new business
concepts aimed directly
at end-users. And it is this
unit that is responsible
for the Group’s develop-
ment, marketing and sale
of educational materials.
Company Profi le 2009 6
Idea and production
Concept and product development
LEGO bricks are manufactured at
takes place primarily at the com-
the Group’s own factories in Den-
pany’s Billund headquarters – but mark, Eastern Europe and Mexico,
the LEGO Group also has listening
and by external suppliers abroad.
posts in Munich, Barcelona, Los An-
Approx. 19 billion LEGO elements
geles and Tokyo in order to monitor
are made every year in Billund –
the latest trends. The creative core is
equivalent to approx. 2m elements
made up of 120 designers represent-
an hour or 36,000 a minute.
ing about 15 diff erent nationalities.
Most of the designers have trained
There are about 2,350 diff erent ele-
at design or art schools in various ments in the LEGO range – plus 52
parts of the world. The LEGO Group,
diff erent LEGO colours. Each ele-
however, does not formally stipulate
ment may be sold in a wide variety
that its designers must have such of diff erent colours and decorations,
a training; selection is based on bringing the total number of active
hands-on work and face-to-face in-
combinations to more than 7,000.
terviews.
How LEGO bricks are made
During the moulding process, the plastic is heated to 232° C until its
consistency is about that of dough. It is then injected into the moulds
at a pressure of 25-150 tons, depending on which element is being
produced. It takes seven seconds to cool and eject new elements.
The moulds used in production are accurate to within two-thousandth
of a millimeter (0.002 mm), and the accuracy of the moulding process
means that only 18 elements in every million produced fail to meet the
company’s high quality standard.
All LEGO elements are fully compatible, irrespective when they were
made during the period from 1958 to the present or by which factory.
Company Profi le 2009 7
Toy of the Century
At the start of the new millennium The LEGO Group has itself grown
the LEGO brick was acclaimed “Toy
through the various ages of play by
of the Century” – fi rst by Fortune passing on know-how and vision to
Magazine and later by the British As-
the next generation – at the same
sociation of Toy Retailers. Carpenter
time incorporating new technology
Ole Kirk Christiansen began making
in its products along the way. The
wooden toys in 1932. Since then the
company’s history shows that the
company has passed from father scope of product development has
to son. Today the founder’s grand-
been immense but that the product
son, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen – with his
remains fi rmly founded on the clas-
children – owns the LEGO Group, sic LEGO brick.
which in terms of sales is the world’s
sixth-largest toy manufacturer:
In 2008 the LEGO brick celebrated
its 50th anniversary. On January 28,
1. Mattel
1958 at 13:58 Godtfred Kirk Chris-
2. Hasbro
tiansen applied for a patent for a
3. Bandai
LEGO building system. This turned
4. TOMY/Takara
out to be a wise decision.
5. MGA Entertainment
The patent application was the start
6. The LEGO Group
of a fairy tale - about a unique prod-
uct that now sells in more than 130
countries.
Company Profi le 2009 8
LEGO System of Play
The classic LEGO interlocking principle was developed more than 50 years
ago. The many possible ways of combining LEGO components encouraged
children to use their imagination and explore their own creative universe. In
1950 Godtfred Kirk Christiansen took over at the helm of the LEGO Group 1950s
when his father, Ole Kirk Christiansen, stepped down. Five years later the
LEGO Group introduced the revolutionary “LEGO System of Play” with the
fi rst “Play and Learn” concept, emphasising the importance of learning
through play. Shortly afterwards the company passed yet another milestone.
In 1958 it launched the LEGO brick with its new interlocking system.
Inventing the wheel
To Godtfred Kirk Christiansen this was just the start of the LEGO System. In
1962 he reinvented the wheel and began experimenting with motors – and
in 1966 introduced the fi rst LEGO train with its own rails and a 4.5v mo-
tor. Many more innovative ideas followed. The LEGO TECHNIC series, in-
troduced in 1977, included parts such as gears, beams and gearboxes. The
product range invited older children to build vehicles and other machines
which were just as complex as their “real-life” counterparts.
Big bricks for little fi ngers
Another revolutionary development happened in the late 1960s: Instead of 1960s
being aimed broadly at the target group “children”, LEGO products were tai-
lored to age groups and stages of development. Godtfred Kirk Christiansen
recognised that younger children could get much more fun from the LEGO
system than had previously been possible – but that they needed diff erent
tools. LEGO DUPLO was launched with the aim of extending LEGO fun to the
youngest. LEGO DUPLO bricks are twice as long, high and wide as ordinary
LEGO bricks – and therefore easier for the youngest hands to manipulate.
LEGOLAND on the map
In 1968 the LEGO Group set up LEGOLAND® Park in Billund. The park was
to prove the most famous and vibrant symbol of creativity and imagination
– viewed from the child’s perspective. LEGOLAND off ers adventures for chil-
dren and fun and enjoyment for the whole family.
LEGO fi gure is born
In 1974 the fi rst LEGO fi gures arrived in the LEGO universe. The fi gures rep-
resented a whole new LEGO concept, with role play and personality becom-
ing part of LEGO play.
1970s
System within a system
In 1978 Godtfred’s son, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, introduced a business model
which created a “system within the system” and gave the LEGO Group an
objective in its product development: to an increasing degree, the diff erent
product ranges were to take account of the child’s needs and abilities at
each stage in its life – continuously aiming for optimum stimulation of the
child’s creativity and imagination. A year later – in 1979 – Kjeld Kirk Kristian-
sen was named president and CEO of the LEGO Group. A company and its
traditions were placed in the hands of the third generation.
Company Profi le 2009 9
Expanding the universe
Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen added a new dimension to the LEGO system of play.
LEGO fi gures were already established as popular characters, and the fo-
cus therefore switched to stories, themes and role play. On the continued
principle of unlimited play, children were introduced to brand-new LEGO
worlds on which they could build and expand their imagination. In 1979 the
LEGO Group reached beyond the skies when it launched the LEGO Space
series. Neil Armstrong may have been the fi rst man on the Moon – but there
was no doubt it was a LEGO fi gure that fi rst visited an alien galaxy.
Partnership with science
In 1984, before digital development really took off , the LEGO Group entered
a partnership with Media Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
1980s nology, USA. Research in technology and learning processes enabled the
LEGO Group to spearhead development. By blending physical and virtual
worlds into an integrated play universe, the company came up with new
products. LEGO TECHNIC Computer Control was launched in 1986 as one
of the partnership’s fi rst tangible results. LEGO products for the educational
sector benefi ted substantially from this invention, which later paved the way
for the fi rst computer-controlled LEGO robots.
Many products in the 1990s
In the 1990s the LEGO Group launched a steady fl ow of new products. In
1994 LEGO BELVILLE™, a product for young girls, appeared with its nuclear
family, horses and scenes from everyday life. LEGO BELVILLE also moved
later into the classic world of the fairy tale with princesses, fairies and but-
terfl ies.
During the 1990s the company opened two new LEGOLAND Parks outside
Denmark: one in Windsor, Britain, in 1996, the other in California, USA, in 1999.
The fourth park appeared on the map at Günzburg, Germany, in 2002.
Robot technology for children
1990s The 1990s were also the decade in which intelligence and behaviour be-
came integral features of the LEGO product range. In 1998 the partner-
ship with Massachusetts Institute of Technology produced amazing results.
By integrating robot technology with the LEGO construction system, LEGO
MINDSTORMS enabled children to create and programme intelligent LEGO
models. FIRST LEGO League is a result of this work: a worldwide technology
tournament in which schoolchildren compete with each other. Tournaments
are held in collaboration with the US non-profi t organisation “FIRST” (For
Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Children design
their own robots, and at the same time they are required to participate in a
series of scientifi c and mathematical/technical projects.
Company Profi le 2009 10
A new, updated version of the MINDSTORMS robot was launched in 2006.
The new LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT enables consumers in just half an hour to
build and programme a robot. The 2006 version of the robot is much more
sophisticated than its eight years’ older brother and can see, hear, speak,
feel and move!
Storytelling
2000
In 1998 the LEGO Group announced an exclusive licensing agreement with
Lucasfi lm Ltd. It gave the Group the right to develop, manufacture and mar-
ket a new series of LEGO sets based on themes from the original Star Wars
trilogy and the three new Star Wars movies.
The BIONICLE® universe made its appearance in 2001. It was the fi rst time
the LEGO Group had developed a complete story from scratch as the ba-
sis for a new product range. Through a combination of physical products
and a detailed online universe, children are invited to tell how they see the
story and the action developing. With the BIONICLE range the LEGO Group
brought a brand-new category to the toy market: Constraction, which is a
combination of “construction toys” and “action fi gures”.
Company Profi le 2009 11
LEGO products for all children
The range embraces products for all children.
are themes such as fi re station, police, airport,
The entire product portfolio is graduated in its
knights’ castle, racers – and many more. An-
challenge to refl ect the fact that children grow
other example is the BIONICLE universe, which
older and develop. LEGO products can be has its own very special story. As well as enjoy-
grouped into a number of categories:
ing building, the child can spend many hours
playing with the fi nished models.
Pre-school products
Pre-school products are the category for chil-
Licensed products
dren who haven’t yet started school. The prod-
Licensed products are play themes based,
ucts are specially developed to cater for the for example, on movies or books for which the
capabilities of the youngest children – encour-
LEGO Group has acquired the rights. LEGO de-
aging them through creative play to use their
signers recreate the universe and characters in
hands and develop their motor skills. Today LEGO bricks so that play can continue on the
LEGO DUPLO comprises both loose bricks fl oor at home. Examples of series produced by
– encouraging the child to build entirely what
the LEGO Group under licence are the LEGO
comes into its mind – and play themes – for
Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones product
example, airport, train and castle. The series lines.
is graded in diffi
culty for children aged 2-6
years. Safety and quality are key features of
the Pre-school range. The elements are large
MINDSTORMS NXT
enough for children under three years to play
With LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT you can design
with without swallowing them – and thanks to
your own robot. By means of the software in-
the way they have been moulded no bits can
cluded in the set, robots can be programmed
become loose.
to perform loads of diff erent operations. The
robot can be fi tted, for example, with sensors
which can control motors and react to light,
Creative Building
sound, touch, etc.
Creative Building is the name given to sets or
buckets with traditional LEGO bricks and spe-
cial parts such as windows, wheels and roof LEGO Education
tiles. No building instructions needed here – LEGO Education products have been devel-
just a bit of imagination. With Creative Building
oped specially for the educational sector and
you can build what you want. Run out of ideas?
contain material for both teachers and pupils.
There are booklets enclosed – with illustrations
Pupils get the opportunity to do their own re-
to feed the active mind. Creative Building is search, for example, into how cause and eff ect
available in DUPLO and standard LEGO bricks.
are related. When you learn by doing, you re-
member it better than if someone simply tells
Play themes
you. This is the philosophy behind LEGO Edu-
Play themes are all those products that are cation’s teaching concepts.
built up around a story. For example, there
Company Profi le 2009 12
The minifi gure
The fi rst LEGO minifi gure appeared on
tral. The fi gure would have no sex, race
the market more than 30 years ago.
or role – these would be determined
Since then the little yellow fi gure has
by the child’s imagination and play.
gone from strength to strength. Over
It was not until the launch of LEGO
the years approx. 4 billion minifi gures
Pirates in the 1980s that the need
have been pro-
seemed to arise
Over the years approx. 4 billion minifi g-
duced – mak-
for having a fi gure
ures have been produced – making it the
ing it the world’s
who could be evil
world’s biggest population group!
biggest popula-
or good, happy or
tion group! The
grumpy.
minifi gure
has
appeared in many guises, including
With licensed products such as LEGO
knight, astronaut, policeman, racing Star Wars™ and LEGO Harry Potter
driver, Star Wars warrior, Harry Potter,
the fi gure began appearing in specifi c
Santa Claus, Steven Spielberg, crane
roles, and with LEGO Basketball it took
operator, footballer, explorer, nurse, on authentic skin colours. In 2004 the
basketball player, Spider-Man, scuba
LEGO minifi
gure assumed an even
diver, skier, fi refi ghter, skeleton, pirate,
wider range of skin colours when it was
skater, American Indian and queen.
decided that the fi gures in licensed
products should resemble the origi-
When the minifi gure fi rst appeared, it
nal characters as closely as possible.
was decided that its face should have
One result was that the fi gures in LEGO
only one colour: yellow. And that its fa-
Harry Potter changed from yellow to a
cial features should be happy and neu-
more authentic skin colour.
Minor and major steps in the history of the minifi gure
1978: The fi rst minifi gures are launched for the themes Town, Space and
Castle. There are seven diff erent fi gures to start with.
1978: Two months after the appearance of the fi rst minifi gures the fi rst female
minifi gure arrives on the scene: a hospital nurse.
1989: Minifi gures change their facial expressions. Now they can be either
good or bad – and can even have a patch over one eye! Some of the fi gures
are equipped with a wooden leg and hook. The Pirates are the fi rst LEGO
product range to top DKK 1bn (EUR 134m) in sales.
1997: The minifi gure comes to life. In the computer game “Panic on LEGO
Island” the minifi gure makes its fi rst-ever appearance as an animated char-
acter. The launch of this new game is preceded by extensive experiment in
developing the fi gure’s movements and language.
1998: With the new Star Wars characters the minifi gure makes its fi rst appear-
ance in a specifi c role. This personifi cation of the minifi gure is later extended
to LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO Studios, LEGO Basketball and other series.
2000: In LEGO Football the minifi gure is mounted on a spring – becoming
a functional element. There is further development with LEGO Basketball –
when the spring is used to activate the fi gure’s hip movement.
2003: For the fi rst time in the history of the minifi gure its yellow facial colour-
ing is replaced by a more authentic skin colour. In LEGO Basketball there are
both dark and light players, with hair-styling printed on the character’s head.
2004: LEGO licensed products no longer have yellow faces – Harry Potter, for
example, assumes a more natural skin tone.
LEGOLAND Parks
LEGOLAND Parks are family parks LEGOLAND California
in which children enter an exciting The third LEGOLAND Park opened
world of adventure built of LEGO in 1999 in Carlsbad, USA, 30 miles
bricks. The LEGO Group sold its north of San Diego and an hour’s
LEGOLAND Parks in summer 2005.
drive south of Anaheim, California.
The purchaser was Merlin Entertain-
Like the other LEGOLAND Parks, LE-
ments, a member of the Blackstone
GOLAND California combines inter-
Group. A new company was set up
active attractions, family activities,
under the deal – Merlin Entertain-
shows, restaurants, shops and LEGO
ments Group. Today the company models. More than 35 million LEGO
owns a number of family attractions
bricks were used in the construction
all over the world, including LEGO-
of the park’s 15,000 LEGO models.
LAND Parks, Madame Tussauds,®
The park is open all year round.
SEA LIFE®, London Eye®, Garda-
land® (Italy) and Heide Park® (Ger-
many). KIRKBI A/S (owning 75% of LEGOLAND Deutschland
the LEGO Group) owns approx. 22%
The fourth LEGOLAND Park opened
of Merlin Entertainments Group.
in 2002 in Günzburg in southern
Germany. A total of 50 million LEGO
bricks were used to build life-size gi-
LEGOLAND Billund
raff es and hippopotami and to cre-
LEGOLAND Billund opened in 1968 ate interactive games and learning.
and quickly became Denmark’s Attractions and shows also help to
most popular tourist attraction out-
give the visitor a fun and exciting ex-
side the capital, Copenhagen. LE-
perience. This year – to celebrate its
GOLAND Billund has seven theme 5th birthday – LEGOLAND Deutsch-
areas – and 50,000,000 LEGO land introduces a brand-new theme
bricks have been used to create the
entitled “PIRATE LAND”. The park
unique environment with knights, has more than 40 attractions plus a
pirates, cowboys and other impres-
staff of 130 permanent and 800 sea-
sive LEGO models.
sonal employees.
LEGOLAND Windsor
LEGOLAND Discovery Centre
A second park was opened in 1996
Berlin
– in Windsor in the south of England.
In April 2007 Merlin Entertainments
Nearly 55 million LEGO bricks were
opened the world’s fi rst LEGOLAND
used in the building of the park. LE-
Discovery Centre – within the ex-
GOLAND Windsor is located approx.
isting Sony Centre in the middle of
35 km west of London, with Windsor
Berlin. The 3,500-m² centre is based
Castle as its nearest neighbour. The
on all the popular LEGO products
following year the park was hailed and invites families to explore an in-
as the most popular new attraction
teractive world of exciting and edu-
in Britain.
cational fun. Expected number of
visitors a year: More than 300,000.
In 2008 two more LEGOLAND Dis-
covery Centres opened in Chicago,
USA and Duisburg, Germany.
Company Profi le 2009 14
LEGO Community
It is important to the LEGO Group to
LEGO Club, members can show
have close contact with its fans and
each other pictures of their favou-
consumers throughout the world. rite building work and draw inspira-
And to this end, the Group engages
tion for future play. Every 2-3 months
in many initiatives to strengthen ties
members receive a members-only
between LEGO enthusiasts and the
magazine, published in English,
Group.
German, French and Dutch. They
also have access to a special LEGO
LEGO.com
Club website.
LEGO.com is the offi
cial website of
the LEGO Group. The aim of LEGO.
In 2004 a new club off er was launched
com is to create a virtual LEGO in the USA: LEGO BrickMaster, aimed
universe in which users can enjoy at children aged seven years and
one of the most intense LEGO ex-
upwards. The new off er is an option
periences. LEGO.com is more than for the most enthusiastic members,
just an online shop. It is a place who can access an even broader
where children, parents and LEGO range of LEGO activities. For the fi rst
fans of all ages can play and learn
time, children can have a selection
about LEGO Group values and of LEGO products supplied regular-
ideas through games, stories, ac-
ly to their home address. In addition,
tivities and experiences. More and they receive special information and
more people are clicking their way
behind-the-scenes LEGO stories
to LEGO.com, and the website now
plus the opportunity to take part in
tops the list of family and children’s
special competitions.
sites on the Internet.
In 2008, LEGO..com had an average
www.LEGOfactory.com
of 18 million aggregated daily unique
The LEGO Group now gives chil-
visitors per month. The visitors spent
dren the opportunity to build their
an average of about 14 minutes at own virtual models on the computer
LEGO.com.
– and then have the bricks to the
On top of the list were BIONICLE physical LEGO model sent by post.
pages - attracting an average of 2 At www.LEGOfactory.com children
million aggregated daily unique visi-
and other building enthusiasts can
tors per month.
build virtual LEGO models using the
professional software application,
LEGO Club
LEGO Digital Designer. Consumers
The LEGO Club is for children in can design and build precisely the
the 6-12 age group and has a mem-
model they think is lacking from the
bership of 2.7 million. Through the offi
cial LEGO range. Each builder
Company Profi le 2009 15
then decides whether he or she
visitors each month. LEGO fans are
wants to buy the model or simply
also very active at YouTube where
exhibit it in the digital gallery for
more than 130,000 LEGO tagged
other visitors to admire.
videos are to be found.
In 2008 more than 100 public events
The aim of the website is to intro-
were organised by LEGO fans, and
duce a whole new dimension to the
more than 1 million people (typically
fun of building. If children are look-
families with children) visited these
ing for advice or ideas, they can
events. During 2008, LEGO busi-
see inspirational material at the ness units and LEGO User Groups
site posted by LEGO designers and
collaborated on 50 projects - from
adult LEGO fans.
events to development issues.
Programmes
LEGO Inside Tour
I 2005 the LEGO Group announced
Twice a year it is possible to join
its “LEGO Ambassador” programme
a very exclusive visit to the LEGO
for AFOLs worldwide. The purpose
Group and be shown round the
of this programme is to expand mu-
company. Enthusiasts from all over
tually useful relations between the
the world take part in these In-
LEGO Group and its loyal, talented
side Tours. During the tour, visitors
and committed consumers.
have close-quarter encounters with
Each LEGO Ambassador Program
product developers, designers and
cycle is one year. LEGO Ambas-
modelmakers, who introduce the
sadors are selected by the LEGO
fans to a themed building com-
Group based on nominations from
petition with LEGO bricks. These
LEGO User Groups. The current
special visitors also learn about LEGO Ambassador Program cycle
the company’s history, culture and
has 40 members from 22 diff erent
values – and get to see behind the
countries all over the world (http://
scenes at LEGOLAND Billund. It is a
www.lego.com/eng/info/default.
special opportunity to see parts of
asp?page=ambassadors).
the company which are otherwise
Some LEGO fans have turned their
closed to the public.
passion for building and creating
Adult LEGO fans
with LEGO bricks into a full-time or
A growing number of adult LEGO
part-time profession: LEGO Certi-
enthusiasts have been setting up
fi ed Professionals who have been
groups (LEGO User Groups - LUGs)
offi
cially recognized by the LEGO
in which to share their LEGO hob-
Group as trusted business partners.
by. They call themselves “AFOLs”
Today there are 9 LEGO Certifi ed
(“Adult Fans of LEGO”). Over a pe-
Professionals. The programme was
riod of years, the LEGO Group has
extended by 3 persons during 2008
actively developed relations with
(see http://www.lego.com/eng/info/
more than 50 “AFOL” groups with a
default.asp?page=affi
liates).
total of 40,000 registered members.
At an early stage of the LEGO Uni-
The groups have their own web-
verse project, back in 2006, it was
sites, blogs and discussion foras.
decided - subject to a confi dential-
The most popular LEGO fan blogs
ity declaration - to include a group
have more than 100,000 unique of adult LEGO fans in the develop-
ment project. At present, the LEGO
Universe Partners programme (LUP)
has approx. 50 active participants.
Company Profi le 2009 16
Learning through play
Research into the fi elds of play and learning
veloped in close collaboration with education-
has always been an important LEGO Group ists and teachers, and LEGO Education is in-
activity – combined with creativity, it is re-
volved in many projects throughout the world
ferred to as “playful learning”. To advance this
– often in conjunction with local education
research, the Group works closely with several
authorities.
research institutes throughout the world. The
development of MINDSTORMS NXT, which was
FIRST LEGO League
launched in autumn 2006, is an excellent ex-
FIRST LEGO League is a robotic tournament
ample of how collaboration with the Massa-
for children and youngsters aged 9-16 years.
chusetts Institute of Technology has resulted
The partnership inspires children and young-
in a new, innovative product.
sters and encourages their interest in scien-
tifi
c and mathematical/technical subjects.
LEGO Education
Teams are made up of 5-10 players. After a
In LEGO Education playful learning is the fo-
project period of 8 weeks, the teams meet
cus of its products. But although the products
to compete in local tournaments, to fi nd out
of LEGO Education are based on the LEGO which team has prepared the best theoretical
brick, the product range should not be mis-
solution to the year’s challenge, whose LEGO
taken for toys for schools. They are in fact a
MINDSTORMS® robot can complete a num-
wide range of options for teachers and pupils,
ber of missions on an obstacle course within
providing a solid grounding in the learning of
2 1/2 minutes, who has proved to be most co-
science concepts through practical exercises.
operative etc. The FLL programme has been
In this way, the products are mainly used in established in collaboration with the American
subjects in which pupils learn, for example, non-profi t organisation ”FIRST” (For Inspiration
about technical principles, the environment and Recognition of Science and Technology).
or IT technology. All the concepts behind the
In the 2008/2009 season more than 140,000
products of LEGO Education have been de-
children in 49 countries have been involved.
Company Profi le 2009 17
Fun LEGO facts
•
More than 400 million children and adults will play with LEGO bricks this year
•
LEGO products are on sale in more than 130 countries
•
If you built a column of about 40,000,000,000 LEGO bricks, it would reach the moon
•
Approx. seven LEGO sets are sold each second
•
Approx. 19 billion LEGO elements are made every year in Billund – equivalent to
approx. 2m elements an hour or 36,000 a minute.
•
If all LEGO sets sold in a year were stacked on top of each other, they would fi ll a foot -
ball
fi eld to a height of 77.8 m
•
Laid end to end, the number of LEGO bricks sold in a year would reach more than fi ve
times round the world
•
On average there are 62 LEGO bricks for every person on earth
•
Since BIONICLE fi gures fi rst appeared in 2001, more than 150 million BIONICLE
“beings” have been born. That’s more than the population of France and Britain put to-
gether
•
The eight robots and 15 automatic cranes that work in the LEGO warehouse in Billund
can shift 660 crates of bricks in and out every hour
•
The world’s children spend 5 billion hours a year playing with LEGO bricks
•
With a production of about 306 million tyres a year, the LEGO Group is the world’s
largest tyre manufacturer
•
In the manufacture of LEGO bricks the machine tolerance is as small as 0.002 mm
•
The LEGO Club has 2.7 million members worldwide
•
Approx. 440 billion LEGO elements have been manufactured since 1949
915 million ways to combine six LEGO bricks
When people used to visit the LEGO Group, one of the things they
were told was that there are 102,981,500 possible ways to combine six
eight-stud LEGO bricks of the same colour. But one day the Group
was contacted by a professor of mathematics who had calculated that
this fi gure was too low. With the aid of computer programming he had
calculated that the exact fi gure was 915,103,765. The discrepancy is ex-
plained by the fact that in the original method of calculation, the only
possibilities counted were the ones that eventually produce a column
six bricks high. But, of course, it is also possible to build the six bricks
– for example – in a chunk three bricks high. The diffi
culty in the early
1970s was that a computer was not available to perform that calcula-
tion. The correct fi gure has since been calculated at 915 million pos-
sibilities
Company Profi le 2009 18
Using the LEGO brand name
Please help us to protect our brand name:
• The LEGO brand name should always be written in capital letters
• LEGO must never be used as a generic term or in the plural or as a
possessive pronoun, e.g. “LEGO’s”.
• When the LEGO brand name is used as part of a noun, it must never
appear on its own. It should always be accompanied by a noun. For ex
ample, LEGO set, LEGO products, LEGO Group, LEGO play materials,
LEGO bricks, LEGO universe, etc.
• The
fi rst time the LEGO brand name appears it must be accompanied
by the Registered symbol ®.
Thank you for helping us!
Company Profi le 2009 is produced for the LEGO Group by
Corporate Communications.
©2009 The LEGO Group
LEGO, the LEGO logo, the BELVILLE logo, DUPLO, BIONICLE, MINDSTORMS,
LEGOLAND, the Minifi gure, the Brick and Knob confi gurations are trade-
marks of the LEGO Group.
© 2009 Lucasfi lm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.
Company Profi le 2009 19
