While the global toy industry faced a challenging year, The LEGO Group continued building on its success.
LEGO, one of the few privately held toy companies to report earnings, says that revenue rose 2% in fiscal year 2023 amid a 4% spike in consumer products sales. The company’s DKK 65.9 billion (approximately $9.65 billion in U.S. dollars) in revenue outpaced the industry thanks to a portfolio stacked with nearly 50% new products — its biggest offering ever.
CEO Niels B. Christiansen attributed last year’s success to the enduring appeal of LEGO’s diverse product portfolio and the company’s commitment to innovation and strategic investments.
“We are pleased with our performance given that 2023 was the most negative toy market in more than 15 years,” Christiansen says. “We continued to grow on top of three years of extraordinary growth and saw strong momentum in the final quarter of 2023.”
Key highlights from the fiscal year include robust performance in the U.S. and Central and Eastern Europe, partially offset by challenges in the Chinese market due to economic conditions. In recent years, China has traditionally been a strong growth market for The LEGO Group.
While profit fell slightly last year, The LEGO Group continued to invest in its future growth by expanding its retail footprint, enhancing digital capabilities, and bolstering sustainability efforts. In 2023, the company opened 147 new LEGO-branded stores globally, reaching a total of 1,031 stores. Additionally, it introduced new play experiences such as LEGO Fortnite and LEGO DREAMZzz, catering to diverse consumer preferences.
The top performing themes included LEGO Icons, LEGO City, LEGO Technic, LEGO Star Wars, and LEGO Harry Potter.
LEGO says that it intensified its commitment to sustainability, with a 60% increase in spending on environmental initiatives compared to the previous year. Plans are underway to double annual environmental spending by 2025 and further enhance the sustainability of LEGO products.
