• Background
There exists in some human beings an insatiable draw towards the unique and the
unusual, as much a statement of individuality as the clothes a person wears. This attraction
sometimes leads towards the hobby of collecting a set of objects. Each person has their own
niche of memorabilia, often a set that reminds them of childhood fantasies or other happy times.
Because these consumers have specialized needs, wanting with varying fierceness to obtain
specific, rare items to complete their sets, the collectibles market makes for intriguing study,
especially that dominated by LEGO—the market for a collectible children’s toy distinguished by
its interlocking bricks.
The LEGO Company has made itself a giant in the market for children’s toys during its
existence and has used that leverage to propel itself successfully into the collectibles market. The
firm began as a manufacturer of wooden toys in Denmark seventy years ago. Sales allowed the
Danish company to survive, but not to thrive until it introduced in 1949 miniature plastic blocks
with divots and bumps that were aligned such that they could fit into one another, and were
designed for building structures. With these plastic blocks the company was able to market to all
first-world countries, from North America to Western Europe, Australia, and Japan. Visualizing
something and then constructing it, its creators believed, was and is an educational experience
that encourages “lifelong creativity, imagination and learning,” according to their press release.
Perhaps the very reason that many people now collect LEGOs is that they were indeed captivated
as children with the infinite capacity of the blocks.
LEGO expanded its product line in the late 1980’s by...
... middle of paper ...
...th. By having examined its
competitors and their successes, one now sees by contrast what LEGO is and is not. To continue
setting the market standard it must maintain its current corporate direction, including repeated
product updates and retirements, that was critically scrutinized here and proven to work. Indeed,
ask history itself.
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Works Cited
“Annual Average Exchange Rates: 2001.” Spreadsheet. Bank of England. 29 Oct. 2002
.
Annual Report: LEGO Company. “Annual Accounts 2001.” 2001. .
Annual Report: MegaBloks Inc. “MegaBloks Quarterly Report 2002. 2002.
.
“The Ultimate LEGO book.” New York: DK Publishing. 1999.
Heller, Richard. “(Re) Building Blocks.” Forbes. 168.13 (2001): 154.
Mand, Adrienne. “Bionicle Web Chronicle.” Advertising Age. 72.33 (2001): 21.
In 2012 alone, Lego increased its revenue by 25%, nearly tripling their sales in 2007 (Trangbaek). Knudstorp has done an exceptional job in progressing Lego through their darkest of days to a new era filled with success. Lego has managed to do what few companies have and despite its many challenges, they have achieved success and continue to serve as a beacon of light to other companies that are facing similar defeat. I am curious to see the future of Lego and intrigued to see their continued growth in the world.
The Lego is a plastic building brick. It was made by Ole Kirk Christiansen in Denmark. The first Legos were actually plastic but had to go back to wood because, the people did not like them. But lets start at the beginning, Ole Kirk first started making wooden furniture. But one day, the workshop caught fire. Determined to continue on, Ole Kirk Christiansen wasn’t going to give up yet, so he built a new shop and worked on expanding his productions.
The hard edge bricks that fundamentally built the popular toy industry were created by a Danish master carpenter form Denmark. Ole Kirk Kristiansen purchased a workshop in the small town of Billund and began to build houses and furniture. When the Great Depression started becoming an intimidating force to close his workshop permanently, he reached for his real passion creating toys for kids in 1932. The time was even harder in 1934 for Kristiansen, combating the loss of his wife and raising 4 young boys and founding LEGO. While it is true Ole Kirk was not the first to create these plastic bricks, he was the first man to introduce the “Automatic Binding Bricks” and they were altered off a British inventor who created a comparable product called the “Kiddicraft brick”. The role Ole Kirk Kristiansen played in the evolution of popular toys is ingenious. His invention is still admired by young to old people all over the world today. Ole Kirk’s impact can be unstated through the candy colored bricks he produced, his significance as a pop culture icon, and lasting presence of his legacy of LEGO in today’s society.
This paper is aim to have a quick analysis of current competitive position of Build-A-Bear Workshop in the toy industry and challenges it faces, and to provide Build-A-Bear Workshop with some short-term and long-term recommendations to continue its success in toy industry. This paper mainly apply Porter’s five forces analysis, external environment analysis, financial analysis and value chain analysis.
...for each individual tooth which gave them the look and feel of brand new teeth. These teeth were fitted to the people’s mouth and mounted down with steel springs ("Technology Timeline.").
A new design of smaller walls that were built in uneven lines, like a star shape, was implemented to strengthen the area called crownworks or hornworks. Other modifications of new designs included lower and thicker walls, gun towers that projected at an angle, intervals of guns for fields of fire, wide and deep ditches, and pillboxes.
The Lego Company was first started in 1916 in Denmark, concentrating on building houses and furniture for all farmers. Lego company found its niche in the year 1932 when the first wooden type building blocks were created by that moment lego company had found the purpose in creating toys for small children. The Lego toy product was developed further and eventually the wooden blocks were developed out of plastic kind of pieces. Lego company effectively grew its brand by evolving several more product lines for different kind of age groups and specializing in its development and production process. However, Lego company, as well as the rest of the toy industry had to experience very slow growth in the period of 1993 to 1998.
toys I feel should always be the number one toy to buy over any power
Traditionally, Dansk Designs followed a strategy of differentiation. When a firm follows this strategy, they create differences in the firm’s product or service by creating something that is perceived as unique and valued by customers. Differentiation can take many forms, including prestige or brand image, which Dansk decided to implement. Their product line consists of eight product categories, which include flatware, china, linen, glass, decorator cookware, and wooden bowls and trays. Their products are of high quality and are highly priced. Dansk was able to achieve a differentiation advantage because their price premiums exceeded the extra costs of being unique. Dansk is able to create these unique products because of the talented designers they employ, including Jens Quisrgaard, Niels Refsgaard, and Gunnar Cyren. Another competitive advantage of a strategy of differentiation is the ability to deal with supplier power. There is a certain amount of status associated with being the supplier to a producer of differentiated products. Dansk’s principal supplier, Richard Nissen, has enjoyed working with Dansk because he believes they have been able to “preserve the handcrafted nature of the products”.
P’kolino’s story is all about passion for superior products and how they can change people’s lives. Founded by Antonio Turcos-Rivas and J.B Schneider, the Company’s goal is: to “make better products to improve play at home”. In the course of developing safe and quality products, implementing and marketing other strategies, P’kolino Company aims at improving children’s play thus , improving sales by $51million (Bygrave and Andrew, 2008). The Company’s goal was comprehended during their MBA’s study. During their study, the two entrepreneurs began a thorough research and development project with more than twenty international design students.
Hasbro, is a global company that was founded in 1923. Hasbro is focused on, “helping to make the world a better place for children and their families.” They create the world 's best play experiences, which ranges from toys, to television, to digital gaming, to consumer products. They are based out of little Pawtucket, Rhode Island, but are currently operating in 40 other countries with 5,000 employees worldwide. They are a small company and are 550th on the Fortune 500 List, but they make an amazing impact on their community.
The origin of the word toy is uncertain but according to Harper, in 1300 a toy is meant t0 be an “amorous playing, sport later piece of fun or entertainment.” Today’s definition is an “object of a representation of something familiar, as an animal or person, for children to play with.” The definition of a toy doesn’t say a very fancy and shiny electronic device that effects a child’s development. The exact time of when toys were created on Earth is unknown due to the fact that we as humans haven’t been around for a ver...
Toy World, Inc is a manufacturer of plastic toys for children, founded in 1973 by David Dunton. In the past, the company's production schedules had always been highly seasonal, reflecting the seasonality of sales. Jack McClintock, president and part owner of this company, is considering a proposal to adopt level monthly production for the coming year.
withstanding a large recession, and commanding high market share. In the last five years, the company’s
When a person thinks of scrapbooking, what do they think? I think of all the pictures and memorabilia that I have saved to create a portrait of my life which I can cherish forever. Scrapbooking is more than making cute pages. Scrapbooking is a unique craft and strange hobby that is rapidly changing (“What”). One wants to make sure all the photos in the scrapbook are safe and won’t be destroyed. As the science of photography is changing, the life of the pictures is being increased, as long as all the safe materials are being used and precautions are taken in what they are doing and how it is being done (“What”).