First half of 2020 sees the LEGO Group’s sales and profits grow

The LEGO Group has had a very successful year so far, seeing both sales and profits grow by double digits.

Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the LEGO Group’s first half sales for 2020 grew by 14% compared to 2019, revenue grew by 7% and operating profit grew by 11% – bringing it to DKK 3.9 billion.

“The strong results are due to our incredible team,” says LEGO CEO Niels B. Christiansen. “When COVID-19 closed stores and offices, our colleagues did everything they could to stay safe and bring play to children and families around the world. I would like to thank them for their extraordinary contribution and their continued fantastic efforts.

“During the first half, we saw the benefits of our investments in long-term growth initiatives such as e-commerce and product innovation. Our strong portfolio appealed to builders of all ages and our recently upgraded e-commerce platform and agile global supply chain allowed us to fulfil online demand. We also collaborated closely with our retail partners to ensure they could continue to supply their shoppers online.”

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The e-commerce success is backed up the numbers, with the number of LEGO.com visitors doubling on last year to 100 million. While the direct sales are good news for the LEGO Group, toy retailers may raise an eyebrow at the more direct approach.

“While retail has been transformed during the past six months, we continue to see great opportunity for an omnichannel model,” says Christiansen. “We will continue to invest in upgrading our e-commerce capabilities to support both our retail partners and own platform and continue to invest in creating fantastic physical brand experiences for shoppers and fans.”

Growth in sales went up by double digits in the Americas, Western Europe, Asia Pacific and China. The company has continued to invest in long term plans and was also impacted by increased freight costs following factory closures in Mexico and China.

The press release names the best performing themes (not ranked) as LEGO Technic, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Classic, LEGO Disney Princess, LEGO Harry Potter and LEGO Speed Champions.

Along with the financial announcements, the LEGO Group has highlighted the ‘Let’s Build Together’ initiative to provide resources for children learning from home due to coronavirus restrictions and charity donations intended to help those who are suffering as a result of the pandemic.

 “We are very pleased to see the enduring appeal of the LEGO System in Play and strength of the LEGO brand,” says Christiansen. “During the first half we attracted new builders of all ages who turned to LEGO play to help them through difficult times. More families are playing and learning together with LEGO bricks and we are seeing more adults than ever before enjoying building our more challenging sets.

“The first six months of 2020 have been unprecedented. I am incredibly proud of the team and how they responded. We kept each other safe, we took care of those most in need and we did everything we could to inspire children and families, whose lives were put on hold, to learn through play.”

The company intends to continue with the long-term growth strategy, he says: “Many of the major trends shaping our industry, such as digitalisation and e-commerce, are accelerating as a result of the pandemic. We saw strong growth in digital and traditional play, a rapid shift to e-commerce and the importance of having a truly global operating model.”

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Author Profile

Graham
Graham was the BrickFanatics.com Editor up until November 2020. He has plenty of experience working on LEGO related projects. He has contributed to various websites and publications on topics including niche hobbies, the toy industry and education.

Follw Graham on Twitter @grahamh100.

Graham

Graham was the BrickFanatics.com Editor up until November 2020. He has plenty of experience working on LEGO related projects. He has contributed to various websites and publications on topics including niche hobbies, the toy industry and education. Follw Graham on Twitter @grahamh100.

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