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

†¢ Background There exists in some human beings an insatiable draw towards the unique and the unusual, as much a statement of individuality as the clothes a person wears. This attraction sometimes leads towards the hobby of collecting a set of objects. Each person has their own niche of memorabilia, often a set that reminds them of childhood fantasies or other happy times. Because these consumers have specialized needs, wanting with varying fierceness to obtain specific, rare items to complete their sets, the collectibles market makes for intriguing study, especially that dominated by LEGO—the market for a collectible children’s toy distinguished by its interlocking bricks. The LEGO Company has made itself a giant in the market for children’s toys during its existence and has used that leverage to propel itself successfully into the collectibles market. The firm began as a manufacturer of wooden toys in Denmark seventy years ago. Sales allowed the Danish company to survive, but not to thrive until it introduced in 1949 miniature plastic blocks with divots and bumps that were aligned such that they could fit into one another, and were designed for building structures. With these plastic blocks the company was able to market to all first-world countries, from North America to Western Europe, Australia, and Japan. Visualizing something and then constructing it, its creators believed, was and is an educational experience that encourages â€Å"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 captivated as children with the infinite capacity of the blocks. LEGO expanded its product line in the late 1980’s by... ...th. By having examined its competitors and their successes, one now sees by contrast what LEGO is and is not. To continue setting the market standard it must maintain its current corporate direction, including repeated product updates and retirements, that was critically scrutinized here and proven to work. Indeed, ask history itself. - 10 - Works Cited â€Å"Annual Average Exchange Rates: 2001.† Spreadsheet. Bank of England. 29 Oct. 2002 . Annual Report: LEGO Company. â€Å"Annual Accounts 2001.† 2001. . Annual Report: MegaBloks Inc. â€Å"MegaBloks Quarterly Report 2002. 2002. . â€Å"The Ultimate LEGO book.† New York: DK Publishing. 1999. Heller, Richard. â€Å"(Re) Building Blocks.† Forbes. 168.13 (2001): 154. Mand, Adrienne. â€Å"Bionicle Web Chronicle.† Advertising Age. 72.33 (2001): 21. LEGO and the Market for Children’s Building Blocks Essay -- Children T †¢ Background There exists in some human beings an insatiable draw towards the unique and the unusual, as much a statement of individuality as the clothes a person wears. This attraction sometimes leads towards the hobby of collecting a set of objects. Each person has their own niche of memorabilia, often a set that reminds them of childhood fantasies or other happy times. Because these consumers have specialized needs, wanting with varying fierceness to obtain specific, rare items to complete their sets, the collectibles market makes for intriguing study, especially that dominated by LEGO—the market for a collectible children’s toy distinguished by its interlocking bricks. The LEGO Company has made itself a giant in the market for children’s toys during its existence and has used that leverage to propel itself successfully into the collectibles market. The firm began as a manufacturer of wooden toys in Denmark seventy years ago. Sales allowed the Danish company to survive, but not to thrive until it introduced in 1949 miniature plastic blocks with divots and bumps that were aligned such that they could fit into one another, and were designed for building structures. With these plastic blocks the company was able to market to all first-world countries, from North America to Western Europe, Australia, and Japan. Visualizing something and then constructing it, its creators believed, was and is an educational experience that encourages â€Å"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 captivated as children with the infinite capacity of the blocks. LEGO expanded its product line in the late 1980’s by... ...th. By having examined its competitors and their successes, one now sees by contrast what LEGO is and is not. To continue setting the market standard it must maintain its current corporate direction, including repeated product updates and retirements, that was critically scrutinized here and proven to work. Indeed, ask history itself. - 10 - Works Cited â€Å"Annual Average Exchange Rates: 2001.† Spreadsheet. Bank of England. 29 Oct. 2002 . Annual Report: LEGO Company. â€Å"Annual Accounts 2001.† 2001. . Annual Report: MegaBloks Inc. â€Å"MegaBloks Quarterly Report 2002. 2002. . â€Å"The Ultimate LEGO book.† New York: DK Publishing. 1999. Heller, Richard. â€Å"(Re) Building Blocks.† Forbes. 168.13 (2001): 154. Mand, Adrienne. â€Å"Bionicle Web Chronicle.† Advertising Age. 72.33 (2001): 21.