Brick turns 60
Battles online games as classic
because it has function.”
For years, Lego has gone to court against imitators, often in vain, and Swanstrom says the Lego brick can no longer be protected.
“We all know: none competition.
It is brilliant to have a monopoly,” Swanstrom adds.
The clone designs are creeping into Lego’s main markets.
At first, competitor products were only sold in Asia, then in Greece and Turkey.
“Now they are coming to Northern Europe,” said Swanstrom.
Even in ego’s home country, Denmark, a large toy chain recently offered clone Lego blocks in its range, shortly before Christmas.
In Germany, Lego continues to be the undisputed market leader.
According to the country’s trade association for toys (BVS), the Danish firm is the manufacturer with the highest turnover in the German toy market — far ahead of Ravensburger, Playmobil and Simba.
“Lego copies have not appeared in the German statistics yet,” says Willy Fischel, who heads the association.
But, in Germany, Lego’s turnover fell by 2 per cent from January to October according to BVS.
It’s part of a more general negative trend for Lego.
During the first half of 2017, the firm’s sales and profits decreased by 3 to 5 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Even 2016 had its challenges, especially in the important markets of Europe and the US, where sales are slipping.
Recently, Lego said it would cut around 1,400 jobs worldwide, about 8 per cent of its workforce.
Despite the threat of intense competition, the Danish company is trying to stay calm, it seems.
“Fair competition is in our interest.
It keeps us sharp,” company spokesman Roar Rude Trangbaek says, adding that the toymaker doesn’t consider Lego clone products its greatest threat.
“We are children’s time.
They can either play with toys or with digital devices,” Trangbaek says.
Lego has seen how the toy market is changing and is now investing in an online platform where children can download construction designs and share photos of their Lego models with others.
It’s all about giving the product a “digital layer.”
“We want to be part of everything children spend their time on,” Trangbaek says.”It is all centred on the Lego block.”