LEGO GmbH has just put some figures on the table for fiscal year 2021:
Following I share with you the Press release of LEGO GmbH in full length. Since the toy fair was cancelled, all information reached us digitally. The opening of the largest LEGO store in Germany in Munich has already been discussed here. All in all, LEGO GmbH draws a successful balance of the business year 2021.
LEGO GmbH fiscal year 2021
" Sales increase and increased market share
" Germany’s largest LEGO store in Munich
" Strategic investments in sustainability and environmental protection
" Community involvement to strengthen children and families
Munich, 1. February 2022: The German subsidiary of the LEGO Group has closed the fiscal year 2021 very successfully. LEGO GmbH was able to further expand its position in the German toy market, according to NPD Group Germany, consumer sales of the company increased by 7.5 percent[1]. In addition, the LEGO® brand was named "The Best Brand of the Year" for the fourth consecutive year[2] and was ranked the world’s most respected company for the second year in a row[3]. The LEGO Group’s stated goal is to make a lasting positive impact on the future of the next generation. To inspire and encourage children, the company continues to launch products in 2022 that support important future skills such as creative problem solving. At the same time, as in the previous year, the company is investing heavily in its own sustainability agenda and in activities that focus on the needs of children in an increasingly complex world. In the German market, too, the company is pushing ahead significantly with its social commitment and strategic investments thanks to the positive business development; among other things, further openings of LEGO stores are planned.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, LEGO GmbH plans to open the 18th LEGO store in downtown Munich. and largest LEGO store in Germany to date. Last year, the doors opened for fans of the colorful bricks at five more new locations. "Our fans – whether young or old – want to experience the unique LEGO brand world with all their senses. They want unforgettable experiences inspired by our LEGO bricks in a creative and playful way. That’s why we’re especially excited to open a flagship store at our corporate location in Munich and the largest LEGO store in Germany to date," said Karen Pascha-Gladyshev, Managing Director of LEGO GmbH and responsible for the LEGO Group’s business in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Consumer panel data from NPD Group Germany shows continued popularity for LEGO GmbH among German consumers, with a consumer sales increase of 7.5 percent for 2021. The market share in Germany was expanded to 17.1 percent[4]. As many as nine LEGO products made it onto the list of the 20 best-selling items in Germany. The LEGO City freight train, the LEGO bouquet of flowers and the LEGO Technic Lamborghini Sian are at the top of the list in terms of popularity, and have generated a great deal of enthusiasm among children and adults alike.
In Switzerland, LEGO consumer sales are up 11.6 percent[5] according to the GfK panel. LEGO GmbH’s market share in the Swiss toy market remains at a very high level and has been further expanded.
It has always been important to the LEGO Group that its activities have a lasting positive effect on society. Children should be given the best conditions – equipped with important core competencies – to shape their future in a self-determined way. "Our concern as a socially responsible company is not only to offer an attractive product portfolio that empowers children, but we also want to create better conditions for them in the future. We are therefore single-mindedly pursuing our sustainability agenda and placing a strong focus on social-social activities, which we are also intensively pursuing in Germany," explains Karen Pascha-Gladyshev.
Social and community involvement
The LEGO Group believes that every child should have the opportunity to build valuable skills through learning through play: The priority of the LEGO Group’s social commitment is therefore to help children develop their potential. Together with the LEGO Foundation and partner organizations, local LEGO teams work to help children in need and those affected by crises and natural disasters. The German team, for example, provided rapid support for affected children and families on the ground after last year’s devastating flood disaster in western Germany. In addition to the nearly one million euros in reconstruction aid provided by the LEGO Foundation and donations in kind, the LEGO Group also provided financial aid to children in India, Afghanistan and Haiti through the LEGO Foundation in 2021.
The company’s other initiatives specifically drive issues that are important for a self-determined future for children and put them at the center of society’s attention "We want to help ensure that children, with their unique perspective, are given more space in society and that their needs are better met," says Pasha-Gladyshev. LEGO Talk, a series of talks initiated by LEGO GmbH, raises awareness of topics such as children’s digital literacy or how to confidently deal with gender stereotypes. At the same time, the LEGO Talks stimulate family and social discourse. Joint projects with partners like UNICEF or the Alliance Against Cyberbullying e.V. provide additional impetus and support children in their development into independent and self-confident adolescents.
Sustainability commitment
The LEGO Group also sees it as its corporate responsibility to do its part to protect the planet and has been working hard on its sustainability agenda for years. As part of its comprehensive sustainability initiative, the company will spend 400 million. USD invested by the end of 2023. Already this year, LEGO sets will increasingly use paper packaging, while many product lines have already been using sustainable LEGO elements made from the raw material sugar cane since 2018. The sustainability team also achieved a major success last summer: The first LEGO brick prototype made from recycled PET bottles was unveiled.
New products first half of 2022
Highlights for kids this year include u.a. the three-story LEGO Ninjago Ninja Dojo Temple and LEGO City Hospital. The LEGO Friends series, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2022, is also expanding its world with a number of new sets, including the modular playable neighborhood, the LEGO Friends apartment block and the LEGO Friends Friendship Treehouse.
The LEGO DOTS series lets young design fans get creative, e.g. with the new DOTS message board or banana pen holder set, as well as new bracelet designs and bag charms. Thanks to the colorful DOTS elements included, the easy and intuitive sets serve as a "canvas" for children to create ever new works, thus promoting their creative self-confidence. In addition, fans of the world’s most famous plumber will enjoy new expansion sets in the LEGO Super Mario line, such as the Luigi’s Mansion "Scary Hide and Seek" set.
Among the dedicated adult-oriented products, the detailed LEGO Technic BMW M 1000 building set sets new standards in construction and, with an impressive scale of 1:5, is the largest LEGO Technic motorcycle to date. Exciting building fun for adult fans of the Star Wars saga is offered by the 6.785-piece LEGO Star Wars AT-AT set, which can be used to recreate the legendary scene from the fifth episode.
Your opinion!
What do you think of the annual report? All figures will be revealed in a few weeks at the annual press conference in Billund. As part of the Toy Fair annual "teasers". Feel free to comment on the numbers mentioned here in the comments, though.