Backstory: LEGO at 90 — Building a (Brick) Empire for Kids and Kidults

You could say that the story of LEGO started with a single brick. But that would be wrong.

In the midst of the Great Depression, master carpenter Ole Kirk Kristiansen was teetering on the brink of financial ruin. Facing a challenging economic climate, Kirk Kristiansen scaled back the output of his woodworking shop in Billund, Denmark, to focus on small, household items that could be sold quickly, such as ironing boards and ladders. In 1932, the first seeds were planted for what would gradually grow into a global toy empire when Kirk Kristiansen introduced a range of high-quality wooden toys, such as tractors, trains, cars, trucks, and pull-along animals.

Three years later, Kirk Kristiansen shifted his entire focus to the toy business, adopting a new name for his company: LEGO. The new name was a simple, snappy word that was inspired by “leg godt,” Danish for “play well.” What the toymaker didn’t realize at the time was that in Latin, LEGO translates to “I put together.” The name was a hint for what was yet to come.

During the 1940s, The LEGO Group experienced its first boom as World War II prompted a spike in wooden toy sales, driven by the scarcity of other toymaking materials such as metal and rubber. With “Quality Above All” adopted as its official mantra, LEGO continued to expand as Ole’s son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, began taking a bigger, more hands-on role in the business.

After being forced to rebuild following a devastating fire that wiped out the LEGO factory in 1942, the company adopted assembly line production and eventually purchased its first injection molding machine. With the ability to produce plastic toys, LEGO took inspiration from the British Kiddicraft Self-Locking Building Brick and developed the predecessor to the now-ubiquitous LEGO brick: the Automatic Binding Brick.

Inspired by a conversation with Troels Petersen, toy buyer for Copenhagen’s Magasin du Nord department store, during a visit to a UK toy fair, Godtfred began working on a “system” that could tie all of LEGO’s products together. The overarching idea was that LEGO products should be able to work with each other so that kids could have a play experience with no limits. In 1958, Ole suffered a cardiac arrest and died. Godtfred took the helm at The LEGO Group and introduced the iconic LEGO brick as we know it today, adding the familiar “tube and stud” elements and cementing its place in history as a timeless toy.

“The LEGO System in Play, with the LEGO brick at the core, has enduring appeal because it welcomes people of all ages and abilities to build, unbuild, and rebuild anything they can imagine as an outlet for storytelling and creative self-expression,” says Skip Kodak, regional president, Americas, The LEGO Group. “Through the process, they experience the joy of building and pride of creation while having fun, which is what keeps people coming back for more. Today, everything we offer is centered around the versatile LEGO play experience to help our fans unlock their creative potential.”

Following another fire that wiped out the rest of LEGO’s wooden toys in 1962, the company completely shifted to plastic toys. Over the next decade and a half, LEGO expanded rapidly, building upon its core business and System in Play with the introduction of wheels; the launch of LEGO Technic, a line for older builders; the introduction of LEGO Duplo for preschoolers; and the concept of a “system within the system” that includes themes, such Castle, Town, and Space.

Building imaginary towns, kingdoms, and space stations is a worthy pursuit, but they needed inhabitants — tiny people that hit the scene just as action figures were starting to become a staple of kids’ toy boxes around the world.

“The first LEGO figure launched in 1974, made of large square LEGO bricks with moveable arms but immovable legs,” Kodak explains. “In 1975, the figure gained a solid torso, but still had immovable arms and legs and no printed features. The LEGO minifigures we know today, equipped with moveable limbs and simple facial expressions, were introduced in 1978.”

Originally introduced as a way to complement the construction sets by giving kids new tools for storytelling and encouraging additional play patterns such as interactive, open-ended imaginative play, the minifigures grew to be iconic in their own right.
“Minifigures are a cornerstone of much of the LEGO play experience and have also become quite collectible as various characters and actors from popular intellectual property (IP) come to life in the LEGO world,” Kodak says.

Throughout much of the 1980s, LEGO was a household name, but the company was essentially on autopilot. LEGO sets became more elaborate, but other toymakers were starting to eye the construction category. While LEGO had disrupted an aisle once dominated by wooden building brands, such as Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoy, and metal construction sets from Meccano and Erector, other toy manufacturers began using plastic for building sets, too. Fisher-Price entered the aisle with Construx, followed by Ritvik’s launch of Mega Bloks and the arrival of K’NEX. Additionally, a host of “compatible bricks” and Chinese knockoffs began flooding the market.

While LEGO began adding more educational features to its sets and focusing on brand extensions like the robotic LEGO Mindstorm, the official corporate timeline that The LEGO Group itself maintains is largely devoid of significant milestones between 1984-1999. Fighting an onslaught of tech toys, including Tamagotchi and Furby, LEGO tried its hand at developing its own digital games and other products that may have moved too far from what made kids love LEGO.

“As the brand grew in popularity around the world, we developed a variety of projects that weren’t as anchored in the LEGO System of Play and the joy of creation it delivers,” Kodak says. “That is why today we’re careful to ensure all of our experiences are centered around the LEGO brick and the pride of accomplishment that LEGO building brings.”

Having dealt with dismal sales in the late 1990s, a new spark of innovation arrived from an unexpected location: a galaxy far, far away.

“One of the ways we have been able to extend the LEGO play experience to invite new audiences is through licensing,” Kodak says. “We didn’t begin licensing until 1999 when we brought the rich Star Wars saga to life in LEGO form.”

Timed to the release of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, LEGO now had a way to connect with kids and adults through a shared love of fandom. The success of Star Wars positioned The LEGO Group to become a genuine force in the licensing world. Over the years, LEGO has developed products inspired by Disney, Marvel, DC Comics, Super Mario, and Minecraft, among others.

“LEGO is doing a masterful job extending the brand into top properties people love and want to experience further, from Star Wars to Harry Potter to automotive brands,” says Mike Olafsson, owner of Monkey Fish Toys in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “But, as important as licensed products are, the LEGO core lines such as City and Friends are always on top of our LEGO best-sellers list.”

With its core brick-based product and minifigures serving as a foundation, LEGO has evolved over the past 20 years into an entertainment and lifestyle brand that uses partnerships to expand across video games, TV, film, theme parks, live experiences, and education. Thoughtful collaboration has also launched LEGO into entirely new consumer products categories that are enjoyed by fans of all ages and interests.

“By partnering with like-minded brands such as Target and adidas, we are able to translate the DNA of the LEGO brand into a variety of different consumer products categories that fans love to turn to as a way of celebrating their brand love,” Kodak says. “From books to puzzles to stationery, shoes, school supplies, and apparel, our partners are able to do what they do best in a way that extends the LEGO brand to an even wider audience.”

Additionally, LEGO has become a global retail powerhouse through a growing network of LEGO Stores, not to mention its importance for mass retailers and thousands of independent toy stores and gift shops.

“LEGO is our best-selling brand by a significant amount,” Olafsson says. “We see the LEGO brand as the ‘foundation’ of our store where we can build lasting multigenerational relationships with our most important customers. Few brands can reach the whole family like LEGO.”

And the oldest members of the family are buying more LEGO than ever before as the “kidult” market of AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO) grows.

“What was once primarily for adult hobbyists is now a much more mainstream audience of engaged builders,” Kodak explains. “Our primary focus is always kids, but one of the best parts of a growing adult audience is the correlation of their use to inspiring the entire family to engage in LEGO building.”

While the bulk of the 21st century has been fruitful for LEGO, there are still challenges that all toy companies face. In the summer of 2017, The Toy Book reported that LEGO was trimming 1,400 members of its staff amid declining sales that led the entire construction category to double-digit declines by the end of the year. But, at the same time, the LEGO Sustainable Materials Centre was a few years into its mission to seek out advances in sustainability, and LEGO was running on 100% renewable energy — three years ahead of schedule. The company became laser-focused on investing in sustainably and infrastructure, opening factories that nearshored production close to the final delivery destination. Right now, the company is on track to create all of its core products with more sustainable materials by 2030 and to use only renewable or recyclable materials in its packaging by 2025.

“Our bricks are inherently sustainable. They are treasured by parents and are designed to be handed down from generation to generation,” Kodak says. “We are committed to building a better world for future generations, and part of this ambition also means making LEGO products from more sustainable sources without compromising quality or safety. In 2018, we introduced the first LEGO elements made from sustainably sourced sugarcane. Today, more than 100 LEGO elements are now made from this material … and last year we announced our first prototype LEGO brick made from recycled plastic bottles.”

Now, as the company looks forward to the next few decades of innovation, it’s continuing to celebrate 90 years of play with a wide range of new products and a new round of investment in its supply chain, its people, and its future.

This fall, The LEGO Group will break ground on a state-of-the-art, 1.7-million-square-foot, carbon-neutral factory in Chesterfield County, Virginia. The $1 billion investment is expected to create more than 1,760 American jobs within the next 10 years.

“More and more families are falling in love with LEGO building and we are looking forward to making LEGO bricks in the U.S., one of our largest markets,” said LEGO Group CEO Niels B. Christiansen in a statement. “The location in Virginia allows us to build a solar park which supports our sustainability ambitions and provides easy links to nationwide transportation networks.”

Additionally, The LEGO Group made a $500 million investment in expanding and modernizing its facility in Monterrey, Mexico, where it expects to increase production by 50% over the next few years.

Last month, LEGO celebrated its 90th birthday in style with the first-ever World Play Day, a full day of global events capped off by the unveiling of a 94,128-piece LEGO birthday cake at LEGO House in Billund, Denmark.

“When my great-grandfather founded the company 90 years ago, he recognized that play could change the lives of children — it brings families together and helps children develop skills that can enable them to reach their full potential,” said LEGO Group Chairman Thomas Kirk Kristiansen in a statement ahead of the celebration. “He only had a small workshop, but he had big ambitions to ensure as many children as possible could experience the benefits that play brings. Whether 1932, 2022, or on our 100th anniversary in 2032, we have and will always strive to continue Ole’s legacy by helping all families, wherever they are in the world, to play well.”

While no one can truly predict the future, it’s a safe bet that as the world continues to evolve, The LEGO Group will evolve along with it. Like its best sets, which can be deconstructed and rebuilt in entirely new ways, The LEGO Group demonstrated that the company itself can do the same. LEGO is a shining example of the resiliency of the toy industry and how challenges can prompt reinvention — one colorful brick at a time.