Colosseum kits and plastic flowers help Lego’s earnings double
The Lego brand is pictured above the principle gate of the brand new Legoland New York Resort theme park throughout a press preview of the park in Goshen, New York, U.S., April 28, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photograph
COPENHAGEN, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Toymaker Lego doubled its earnings within the first six months of the 12 months as prospects flocked to its reopened shops to purchase Star Wars constructing units, mannequin Colosseums and flower bouquets created from its vibrant plastic bricks.
Whereas components of the worldwide retail business are nonetheless reeling from the pandemic and associated provide chain points, Lego says it has benefited from its decade-old technique of inserting manufacturing near its key markets, slicing logistical points and prices.
“It has made us considerably extra resilient, since we’ve got not needed to ship every little thing world wide urgently,” Chief Government Niels B. Christiansen informed Reuters, including that Lego has 5 massive factories protecting Asia, Europe and the Americas.
The family-owned firm noticed a surge in its on-line gross sales in the course of the pandemic however reiterated on Tuesday it could proceed to wager on bodily shops to draw new prospects.
“If anybody doubted whether or not shops would nonetheless have relevance on the opposite aspect of COVID-19, we’ve got merely seen each site visitors and income come again into shops,” Christiansen mentioned.
Lego mentioned it had outpaced the toy business in all main markets in the course of the first six months of 2021 as manufacturing was uninterrupted by COVID-19 restrictions and most of its bodily shops reopened.
Primarily based in Billund, Denmark, Lego expects to open 174 new shops world wide this 12 months, reaching 851 shops in whole. Final 12 months, Lego opened 134 new shops. Within the first half of this 12 months it opened 60 new shops.
Well-liked constructing units within the first half of the 12 months had been Lego Star Wars and the superior Lego Creator Skilled units, which embody flower bouquets and a mannequin of Rome’s Colosseum. They’ve develop into fashionable amongst adults caught at house throughout lockdown intervals.
Lego additionally opened a brand new flagship retailer in Manhattan, New York Metropolis in June the place prospects are in a position to work together with Lego merchandise, each bodily and digitally, corresponding to designing new Lego figures or making a Lego mannequin of 1’s face.
The brand new retailer format shall be launched to round 60 shops this 12 months.
“It is much less about promoting merchandise, extra about exhibiting your entire Lego universe to customers,” Christiansen mentioned.
Regardless of dealing with rising prices for freight and uncooked supplies, Lego greater than doubled its working revenue within the first six months of this 12 months to eight billion Danish crowns ($1.26 billion) in comparison with the identical interval final 12 months.
Income grew 46% to 23 billion crowns and on-line gross sales throughout all platforms grew 50% in comparison with the identical interval final 12 months, Lego mentioned. It didn’t give a determine for on-line gross sales or their proportion of whole gross sales.
($1 = 6.3437 Danish crowns)
Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard; Enhancing by Susan Fenton
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