Robert Greenstein and his Danish partners plan to make South Africans think in bricks
Robert Greenstein, whose family established jeweller Wolf Brothers in 1902, is banking on his new licensed Lego stores to build SA’s weak economy.
He met Business Day to explain why he believes the yellow brick toy, Lego, can withstand economic woes and continue to attract children, collectors and investors.
Why are you opening dedicated retail stores when consumers are under so much pressure?
Nowadays you’ll find that in quite a few malls around the world single-brand shops are gaining in popularity. People want to shop at these stores as they offer experiences and access to wider ranges of stock than general retailers do. With Lego I have looked to achieve the same thing.
How did you manage to open your first Lego-certified store in Sandton City?
In 2014 I saw a Lego store in the UK and asked myself if there was a similar store in SA and if not, why not. I did some research and found that while Lego was sold at numerous toy shops it wasn’t fully supported in our country. People just didn’t have the exposure to the brand that they should have had.
This was while the brand was growing globally especially after the release of
in 2014. I founded Great Yellow Brick with business partners and contacted Lego’s SA representative office who put me on to the larger group.
Lego is a Danish product. I had extensive experience in jewellery retail and it so happened that I brought Pandora, an international Danish jewellery brand to SA. They liked what I had to say and my vision of how a dedicated official Lego store could succeed here in Africa.
We became the sole licence holder for Lego in SA and then approached superregional malls with the prospect of opening the first Lego store in SA. We achieved our goal and opened a 179m² Lego shop in Sandton City in July 2018.
Are you looking to open more Lego stores in other large shopping centres in SA?
Yes, our second stall was opened in Menlyn Park shopping centre in Pretoria in June. This is a 170m² store which is serving the people of Tshwane and surrounds. It has an extensive range of Lego products on offer. It differs from the Sandton store as it contains Lego facades and designs which relate to Pretoria. I’m hoping that customers, especially diehard Lego fanatics, will come to all of our stores and find the nuances in products on offer and in designs. The third of our stores will open in Century City’s Canal Walk centre in Cape Town on Saturday.
What sets Lego-certified stores apart from other retailers of Lego?
Our licence allows us to deliver all sorts of extras to customers. We have Pick A Brick Wall which is a custombuilt fixture with round canisters, each filled with an assortment of bricks and elements that fans can purchase in set-priced cups. So essentially, you can replace missing pieces and also use your imagination to invent new characters, objects and structures. We also offer a minifigure station, which includes a large variety of parts and accessories that allow shoppers to create customised minifigures. Then there is the augmented reality screen that helps shoppers visualise the contents of box sets, in 3D, before they purchase.
Will there be any Cape Town-specific Lego buildings on display in the Canal Walk store?
We had a fan design and build a 3D model that captures the spirit of Bo-Kaap. We also have areas in the store to encourage fans to unleash their imagination. The new Lego Minifigures Series 19 will launch at the store opening, and will be exclusive to that store for the rest of the weekend.
Do you have plans to open stores in other parts of SA?
Lego is a privately owned family company which is exceptionally good at managing its brand. It offers licence agreements very carefully and doesn’t run a franchise model. In our case, we have to show Lego that we are putting this exclusive licence to good use.
So we want to have stores in major metropolitan hubs and are looking at different options around the country and will have four or five stores in the near future.
Lego is a well-loved product. Young children buy Duplo and then Lego and then they buy other variations later in life as a hobby. People are also investing in Lego, [it] has outperformed other asset classes.
I’M HOPING DIEHARD LEGO FANATICS WILL COME TO ALL OF OUR STORES AND FIND THE NUANCES IN PRODUCTS ON OFFER AND IN DESIGNS