LEGO and the Market for Children’s Building Blocks Essay -- Children T

BackgroundThere exists in some human beings an insatiable draw towards the crotchety and theunusual, as much a statement of individuality as the clothes a person wears. This attractionsometimes leads towards the hobby of collecting a sight of objects. Each person has their take inniche of memorabilia, often a set that reminds them of childhood fantasies or other happy times.Because these consumers have specialized needs, wanting with vary fierceness to obtainspecific, rarified items to complete their sets, the collectibles commercialise makes for intriguing study,especially that dominated by LEGOthe market for a collectible childrens toy august byits interlocking bricks.The LEGO confederacy has made itself a giant in the market for childrens toys during itsexistence and has used that leverage to propel itself successfully into the collectibles market. The unwavering began as a shaper of wooden toys in Denmark seventy years ago. Sales allowed theDanish company to survive, bu t not to thrive until it introduced in 1949 toy dog plastic blockswith divots and bumps that were aligned such that they could fit into one another, and weredesigned for building structures. With these plastic blocks the company was able to market to allfirst-world countries, from North America to Hesperian Europe, Australia, and Japan. Visualizingsomething and then constructing it, its creators believed, was and is an educational get a linethat encourages lifelong creativity, imagination and learning, according to their press release.Perhaps the very reason that many people now collect LEGOs is that they were then captivatedas children with the unnumerable capacity of the blocks.LEGO expanded its product line in the late 1980s by... ...th. By having examined itscompetitors and their successes, one now sees by line of business what LEGO is and is not. To continuesetting the market standard it must maintain its current corporate direction, including repeatedproduct updates an d retirements, that was critically scrutinized here and proven to work. Indeed,ask account statement itself.- 10 -Works Cited one-year Average Exchange Rates 2001. Spreadsheet. Bank of England. 29 Oct. 2002.Annual taradiddle LEGO Company. Annual Accounts 2001. 2001. .Annual Report MegaBloks Inc. MegaBloks Quarterly Report 2002. 2002..The Ultimate LEGO book. New York DK Publishing. 1999.Heller, Richard. (Re) grammatical construction Blocks. Forbes. 168.13 (2001) 154.Mand, Adrienne. Bionicle Web Chronicle. Advertising Age. 72.33 (2001) 21. LEGO and the Market for Childrens Building Blocks Essay -- Children T BackgroundThere exists in some human beings an insatiable draw towards the unique and theunusual, as much a statement of individuality as the clothes a person wears. This attractionsometimes leads towards the hobby of collecting a set of objects. Each person has their ownniche of memorabilia, often a set that reminds them of childhood fantasies or other happy ti mes.Because these consumers have specialized needs, wanting with varying fierceness to obtainspecific, rare items to complete their sets, the collectibles market makes for intriguing study,especially that dominated by LEGOthe market for a collectible childrens toy distinguished byits interlocking bricks.The LEGO Company has made itself a giant in the market for childrens toys during itsexistence and has used that leverage to propel itself successfully into the collectibles market. Thefirm began as a manufacturer of wooden toys in Denmark seventy years ago. Sales allowed theDanish company to survive, but not to thrive until it introduced in 1949 miniature plastic blockswith divots and bumps that were aligned such that they could fit into one another, and weredesigned for building structures. With these plastic blocks the company was able to market to allfirst-world countries, from North America to Western Europe, Australia, and Japan. Visualizingsomething and then constructing it, it s creators believed, was and is an educational experiencethat encourages lifelong creativity, imagination and learning, according to their press release.Perhaps the very reason that many people now collect LEGOs is that they were indeed captivatedas children with the infinite capacity of the blocks.LEGO expanded its product line in the late 1980s by... ...th. By having examined itscompetitors and their successes, one now sees by contrast what LEGO is and is not. To continuesetting the market standard it must maintain its current corporate direction, including repeatedproduct updates and retirements, that was critically scrutinized here and proven to work. Indeed,ask history itself.- 10 -Works CitedAnnual Average Exchange Rates 2001. Spreadsheet. Bank of England. 29 Oct. 2002.Annual Report LEGO Company. Annual Accounts 2001. 2001. .Annual Report MegaBloks Inc. MegaBloks Quarterly Report 2002. 2002..The Ultimate LEGO book. New York DK Publishing. 1999.Heller, Richard. (Re) Building B locks. Forbes. 168.13 (2001) 154.Mand, Adrienne. Bionicle Web Chronicle. Advertising Age. 72.33 (2001) 21.