Here's some interesting info, all here: link.

It's surprising about how much they talk about Indy Jones, although they never mention the line dissolving next year. Of course, maybe it won't, as far as I know, we never got it confirmed, I just know we never saw leaked pictures. And we haven't seen any full-out leaked pictures!

Interesting little read, curious that nothing better is going on in NYC than to talk about LEGO

Don't get me wrong I love LEGO but most of New York probably doesn't care.

Good for LEGO.

Nice find Darth Legolas!

I read the first page, but I don't want to read the rest right now (4 pages is too much, even for LEGO related news! ). It seems like it's going to be interesting though.

Doesn't that make you want to just grab one of those fresh, newly made LEGO sets right off the conveyer belt?

Edited September 5, 200915 yr by ILikePi

That’s very different from when Mr. Meyer joined Lego a decade ago. Though creating a mold to make a new plastic element might cost 50,000 euros. on average, he recalls that 90 percent of new elements were developed and used just one time.

The changes also filtered down to the ranks of Lego’s toy designers, says Paal Smith-Meyer, head of Lego’s new-business group. The number of different bricks or elements that go into Lego toys has shrunk to less than 7,000 from roughly 13,000, and designers are encouraged to reuse parts, so that a piece of an X-wing fighter from the “Star Wars” series might end up in Indiana Jones’s jeep or a pirate ship.

Oh no, that's a very bad sign.

Interesting little read, curious that nothing better is going on in NYC than to talk about LEGO

Don't get me wrong I love LEGO but most of New York probably doesn't care.

Good for LEGO.

What's the point of posting this comment, Big Cam? You're apparently from Iceland so why comment on the reading habits of New Yorkers when you have nothing constructive to say about the article itself?

If you don't have anything meaningful to add to the discussion, don't post.

This is a great article, and what I would expect to find in the Business Suplement of the a quality newspaper...

Oh no, that's a very bad sign.

I agree, it seems to paint Jorgen Vig Knudstorp as the model of Business Efficiency, I hope that he does not take this to far. I think the debate about Licensed Themes and Violence all comes down to the contrast between what adults want Lego to be, and what Kids want Lego to be. The 10% statistic for AFOL sales, then puts this into perspective.

I wouldn't panic about the reduction of different moulds - that's old news and happened a while back. It also explains the reduced colour palette.

As you can see from all the lines released in 2009, Lego is not averse to reusing existing old moulds (like a lot of stuff in the Pirates line) or producing great new moulds - like the spyglass, new flame/ plume, cows, the new SP3 minifig heads and headgear, Ewoks, new Technic pieces...

I wouldn't panic about the reduction of different moulds - that's old news and happened a while back. It also explains the reduced colour palette.

As you can see from all the lines released in 2009, Lego is not averse to reusing existing old moulds (like a lot of stuff in the Pirates line) or producing great new moulds - like the spyglass, new flame/ plume, cows, the new SP3 minifig heads and headgear, Ewoks, new Technic pieces...

Don't forget all the new toy story molds.

Nice find Darth Legolas!

I read the first page, but I don't want to read the rest right now (4 pages is too much, even for LEGO related news! ). It seems like it's going to be interesting though.

Doesn't that make you want to just grab one of those fresh, newly made LEGO sets right off the conveyer belt?

Too bad that wasn't a picture of some unseen sets coming out!

It's sad to know Lego is losing molds, but hey, there are tons of old Scala and those odd semi knexlike pieces that are all gone. And those 2006 robo cars, they weren't even compatible with Lego!

Well hopefully they will eliminate older parts that have been made obsolete by newer ones and burps/poops. And hopefully the mould reduction means less expensive kits and/or more bricks per set.

Well hopefully they will eliminate older parts that have been made obsolete by newer ones and burps/poops. And hopefully the mould reduction means less expensive kits and/or more bricks per set.

The mould reduction already happened. This isn't new.

When browsing through the picture slideshow on the article, I found one picture with a weird caption. Here it is:

The Lego White House, part of the Architecture line.

That's not part of the Architecture line.

It seems to be a BrickWorld creation because of the blurred minifig with a BrickWorld logo torso print.

Also, notice the grille piece that was cut in half on the flag.

It looks like NY Times reporters don't know their LEGO.

That is a interesting read. A bit long for a newspaper article (4 pages) but very informative and fun. I didn't think that 5-10% of lego was sold to adults. The afol community is a lot bigger than I thought.

I also didn't think that a new piece mold is worth about $50,000 eu. I knew the price was hefty but I didn't know it was that high.

Thank you for sharing this article. I enjoyed it.

I think it was a poorly researched article. There's no way they should have included the quote about hard to find a basic box of bricks. I think Lego have never had a greater range of brick buckets and Creator sets - look at the section on the website - 40+ sets. And indeed in my local Smyth's toy store (the one that stocks most of the Lego range) the Creator sets take up an entire shelf segment floor to ceiling *and* the larger ones (Family House, 4956 House, Fire Rescue, Highway Transport) spilling over to take up a shelf at the bottom of even the shelf space alloted to the themed Lego (Indy, SW).

Not much discussion either of how the City theme has been driving Lego popularity too. Again, at any of the local stores here it has the most shelf space - perhaps a quarter of the total.

Maybe it's a bit different in the US and many places stock mainly Indy and Star Wars Lego? I find that hard to believe though.

Edited September 6, 200915 yr by brickzone

I think it was a poorly researched article. There's no way they should have included the quote about hard to find a basic box of bricks. I think Lego have never had a greater range of brick buckets and Creator sets - look at the section on the website - 40+ sets. And indeed in my local Smyth's toy store (the one that stocks most of the Lego range) the Creator sets take up an entire shelf segment floor to ceiling *and* the larger ones (Family House, 4956 House, Fire Rescue, Highway Transport) spilling over to take up a shelf at the bottom of even the shelf space alloted to the themed Lego (Indy, SW).

Not much discussion either of how the City theme has been driving Lego popularity too. Again, at any of the local stores here it has the most shelf space - perhaps a quarter of the total.

Maybe it's a bit different in the US and many places stock mainly Indy and Star Wars Lego? I find that hard to believe though.

I completely agree with everything you just said.

Legos values are still very much alive and well in the lego city, creators, technic, and many other lines. The only difference now is that there is a choice between these and sets of a more violent nature (which are also great ) Besides I don't think that if a boy buys an indy set he'll only ever build scenes from indy movies. He'll use his imagination and build spaceships and forts and hospitals and fairground rides and all kinds of stuff. An indy set is only an indy set after you've built it. Before then it's a pile of bricks with which you can build whatever you want just like any other lego product. The values of lego live on !

Nevertheless, Lego hasn’t entirely shed its Scandinavian sense of social mission when it comes to making toys. It kept quality high and never moved any manufacturing to China, avoiding the lead paint scare and grabbing market share when rivals stumbled amid multiple recalls.

Didn't they?? Didn't I read it on some of my boxes?

(about 2009 sales numbers)

The answer is as multifaceted as one of Lego’s most complicated brick creations — and, like the best children’s stories, contains elements of luck, hard work and the loss of innocence.

Wasn't the reason more customers heading for higher priced items in a recession?

Also I didn't like the hail and praise of Jorgen Vig Knudstorp. Sure, he helped to save the company. But was it alone the Change Management he studied at McKinseys? Production, cost, prices, pressure on employees? I don't think that. (and I find it disturbing that business media is always so crazy about Change.)

When browsing through the picture slideshow on the article, I found one picture with a weird caption. Here it is:

The Lego White House, part of the Architecture line.

That's not part of the Architecture line.

It seems to be a BrickWorld creation because of the blurred minifig with a BrickWorld logo torso print.

Also, notice the grille piece that was cut in half on the flag.

It looks like NY Times reporters don't know their LEGO.

...buuuuut it must be part of the Architecture line! It even has an "official" box behind it!

Also, apparently we're getting another police station.

Boxes stamped “confidential” hold potential future blockbusters, like Buzz Lightyear, the hero of the “Toy Story” animated films, as well as a police station bustling with miniature cops and robbers.

I gotta confess, I didn't see that coming, at all.

This is a nice article. It has a bunch of errors and probably exaggerates the dominance of licensed sets over in-house ones, but it does highlight various shifts in TLG's corporate mindset that have occurred over the last five years.

There was another such article posted on Lugnet some years ago profiling TLG as a business. In that one, Knudstorp had said that TLG's traditional, "only the best is good enough" attitude towards quality and the corporate culture surrounding it were dragging down the company, and he had been brought in to shake things up. The effects of that can certainly be seen today. I don't like it but in a way I think it was inevitable, as we've seen the same thing happen in many other markets aside from just that of construction toys. They are simply responding to what the majority of consumers want.

Didn't they?? Didn't I read it on some of my boxes?

Yes, they make some things in China. The special numbered items (like the classic minifig collections) and the Power Functions parts have been brought up. Most of the production for regular sets is run out of the Czech Republic and Mexico though. I'm not sure how much stuff they still produce in Denmark.

Yeah Mexico is so much better than China.

I'll just copy and paste what i said from a topic I made by mistake. :)

I like how they have talked about the companies horrible years (2000-2004), that development of sets is now only about a year, and that the LEGO Board games will be coming to the USA in 2010, which makes me very happy.

My favorite part is where TRU said they cared more about LEGO than the company (During the bad years). They care so much that they charge 20%-35% more!

Just another note, reading through the part about molds again, since they say they desperately have to reuse molds, so they have to make somewhat reusable pieces, why did Lego make the Space Police Snake Helmet? No one else can wear it, and nothing else could use it! I really dislike it, but I don't understand how that could ever be re-used! Ever!

Just another note, reading through the part about molds again, since they say they desperately have to reuse molds, so they have to make somewhat reusable pieces, why did Lego make the Space Police Snake Helmet? No one else can wear it, and nothing else could use it! I really dislike it, but I don't understand how that could ever be re-used! Ever!

it can be reused by future alien minfigs. They seem to be more into the human vs alien theme now. Or you could use it as post apoc biker gang helmets.

I rather like that helmet. They do still make unique molds, just not as often as they used to 7 or 8 years ago.

The biggest change has occurred with unique printed pieces. At various points in the past (1980-1993 and 1998-2003), it was common to have printed pieces that only appeared in one or two sets, which I think added a lot to the value of those sets. Today, we're lucky to get any printed pieces at all aside from minifigs.

I rather like that helmet. They do still make unique molds, just not as often as they used to 7 or 8 years ago.

The biggest change has occurred with unique printed pieces. At various points in the past (1980-1993 and 1998-2003), it was common to have printed pieces that only appeared in one or two sets, which I think added a lot to the value of those sets. Today, we're lucky to get any printed pieces at all aside from minifigs.

Which is why they stopped printing pieces, a huge waste of a brick. It's also why from like 2004-2006 the price of LEGO seemed to have gone down, you got more brick for your money. Sadly that really stopped last year.

Which is why they stopped printing pieces, a huge waste of a brick. It's also why from like 2004-2006 the price of LEGO seemed to have gone down, you got more brick for your money. Sadly that really stopped last year.

Well it depends when I like stickers. If there is something you want to reuse again and again, but it has a printing on it, it''l only make sense in that theme. But if you get a set you know you'll never take apart, but the stickers go on dreadfully, then I hate it.

I love the new printed Tantive IV cockpit. It's perfect, because I'll never remove a piece from it, and I Hate stickers on clear parts.

With licensed themes, I think everything will cost more. One for the molds they make for pieces (Indy's Golden Idol and the Crystal Skull, (Star Wars has Greedo and Boba Fett, and a lot more helmets...but that's for army building, so they make about as much money as they spent) and two for the money to pay for the license.

Which is why they stopped printing pieces, a huge waste of a brick. It's also why from like 2004-2006 the price of LEGO seemed to have gone down, you got more brick for your money. Sadly that really stopped last year.

Actually the prices were just as low in 2003 too, and they had a lot of unique printed parts that year (and there still continued to be cases of such parts until 2006). TLG had simply reduced their profit margins during those years to try and make their products more attractive, which was good for us but backfired for them.