Strategy+Business: Lego's Serious Play
By Mikkel B. Rasmussen
Sure, having a global blockbuster film with your company’s name in the title is good for business. But the huge box office numbers racked up by The Lego Movie (US$469 million around the world) don’t entirely explain the fantastic results Lego posted in 2014. Total sales rose 13 percent, and profits—at a record $829 million—surged 15 percent. “Everything is awesome!” proclaimed CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, echoing the film’s bouncy theme song, which was performed at the Oscars. But, he continued, “without The Lego Movie, we would have continued our growth trajectory.”
And what a trajectory it has been. Over the past ten years, sales have more than quadrupled. Last year, the Danish company added 893 employees, opened new offices in Shanghai and London, passed Mattel to become the leading toy manufacturer in the world, and topped Ferrari as the world’s “most powerful brand” in the rankings by consultancy Brand Finance. Knudstorp pointed out that much of the company’s market is now in China, where the movie never even opened. “The fact that it didn’t play there means that our more than 50 percent growth rate in China was helped by the general strength of our marketing and assortment,” he said. “The movie is an important event, but it is far from the only explanation.”
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[Banner image by Kelly Sikkema, via Unsplash]