The history of LEGO, or how the most famous brand in the toy world was born
The LEGO brand is today the most famous toy world. Even more famous than Hasbro and Barbie doll. But few people know that the Danish company began its history as an ordinary manufacturer of wooden products. And the first LEGO toys were completely made of wood.
However, the company managed to grow to such a size that its famous designers began to copy other companies-pirates, which produced similar sets of toys in batches. But Seth Godin once said: "If you are copied, it means that you really did something wonderful."
Childhood ... wooden toys
')
The history of LEGO dates back to 1932, when Ole Kirk Christiansen founded a company for the production of everyday goods in Denmark. Ole made products from a tree, thus initially the main profit of the company was brought by ladders and ironing boards, the demand for which fell sharply during the global financial crisis.
It was necessary to look for a new niche. And Ole saw her in the production of wooden toys, as the demand for them did not weaken even in difficult financial times. At that time, his son, who had been working with his father since he was 12, was the main assistant to Ole.
Starting the release of toys, Christiansen began to look for a name for his company. He gave the task to all factory workers to offer their own version of the name. There were many offers, but in the end they chose what the founder himself had invented - the word LEGO, which originated from the other two - Leg and Godt, which together mean “play well”. A few years later, the founder learned that the very phrase “LEGO” in Latin means “I learn” or “I add up”. Obviously, this realization has seriously affected the future history of the company.
Although, to talk about that over the name the whole company thought too loud. At that time, only 7 people worked at LEGO, enthusiastic carpenters, who enjoyed the creation of new things. And they already cared about the quality of products. Over their workplaces an inscription hung on the wall by Ole Christiansen: "Only the best is worthy."
By 1936, the company already had at its disposal a set of 42 different toys. At the same time, all of them were already far from the cheapest pleasure (now the LEGO is, as before, quite expensive). At the same time, the company still continued to produce not only toys, but also other wood products.
In the 40s many changes occurred in the history of the company. First, its only factory burned down. Immediately after the restoration, it became clear that now LEGO will be engaged only in toys. The growth of the staff lasted all these years and reached 40 people by 1943, and exactly a year later Christiansenes finally registered the company officially, calling it “LegetOjsfabrikken LEGO Billund A / S”.
In 1947, a significant event took place that forever turned the history of the company. LEGO receives the rights to develop an English psychologist Mr. Hilary Harry Fisher Page'a. Actually, it was a small plastic cube that could be connected with other similar parts, so you could even assemble some small structure, which, however, was not very suitable for fastening at that time, and therefore just as quickly disintegrated and was going to. But this is a start. By that time, his son Ole Gottfried was already 30 years old, and he was no less involved in the affairs of the company than his father. Gottfried understood that the future is precisely for such toys.
The LEGO began to gradually move away from the tree, in favor of plastic. Therefore, Christians are acquiring this year the largest plastic casting form in Denmark, which allows them to put the production of such toys on stream (I must say that the Danes had to lay out as much as 30 thousand local crowns for this form, which is a lot of then cost 36 crowns).
In the late 40s, the company had about 200 different models of plastic and wooden toys. But the LEGO was still not what we know it today. The cubes for which LEGO received the rights were not yet suitable for a full-fledged designer. Therefore, they were not issued. Up until 1958, when (already) the head of the company, Gottfried Christiansen, did not patent the system of building blocks from cubes. It was a completely new system, allowing much more durable to interconnect the details of the designer. Now he could be called that way. Constructor.
However, before the appearance of the famous LEGO cubes, another important event occurred under the leadership of Gottfried. In 1955 the LEGO thematic set of toys was released. It was a prototype of what we will see in many years when the company begins to release its most popular thematic series (space, city, knights, cowboys, and so on). The first sets have become very popular.
The new future of the LEGO brand
In 1960, the company’s workshop, which produces wooden toys under the LEGO brand, burns down. The company came to the conclusion that they would not resume their production, and the repaired workshop would be engaged in plastic. By that time, LEGO had already sold 50 sets of its designer in many countries of the world. And in 1962, the private airline LEGO was opened. Designers began to carry in the United States.
Undoubtedly, access to this super-profit market has become a very important event for the Danes, who were trying to increase the sales of their toys all over the world. 2 years after the opening of his runway, LEGO begins to deliver a small assembly instruction in its set of designers, which indicates what needs to be done to assemble the model shown on the package. Soon the instructions will become an integral part of each set in LEGO.
In addition, at this time, the company begins to work more closely with customers, thereby improving the quality of designers. LEGO was one of those firms that asked the client what it needed. And only then proceeded to the development of goods. Such cooperation resulted in the appearance of a super successful project - a set of railways from the LEGO designer.
Needless to say, by the mid-60s, more than half a thousand people worked at the main LEGO factory.
But on this the company has not ceased to evolve. In 1967 the cube DUPLO was born, which became a key figure in the same-named set for young children. While the company was patenting new developments, they were already thinking about the opening of the LEGOLAND park, which appeared in Denmark a year after the appearance of the DUPLO, in the city of Billund.
In addition, critics have also appreciated LEGO this year. She won the award for the best toy of the year in Luxembourg. But it was still the beginning of the formation of the company, conquering children's hearts ...
The rapid development of the LEGO range
If we talk about the products of LEGO of those years, it may seem that the company focused exclusively on the representatives of the male half of humanity. This is not entirely true, as the products for girls in the LEGO assortment were also. For example, in the 70s produced doll houses with furniture. And the Duplo project was equally designed for both girls and boys. Although, of course, even today, most of the LEGO products are created with a slant on the male audience. And this is not discrimination, they simply love designers.
In 1973, the famous LEGO logo was developed, which today is known to most people on the planet. After the appearance of the new logo, the company began to open production outside Denmark. The first country to host the LEGO factory was the highland Switzerland.
By 1977, the company LEGO was headed by the grandson of Ole Christiansen Keld. By that time, LEGO had already released many different sets for every taste, among which were even some kind of technical solutions. At this time, kits appeared containing figures with moving limbs. It was in 1979 that the first truly thematic LEGO set appeared, which would begin the classification of the company's products right up to the present day - this will be the LEGOLAND Space set. Cosmos will be just the beginning for LEGO. But a very successful start.
The LEGO assortment grew by leaps and bounds. But most importantly, consumers adored the products of this company. She was really original, attractive, interesting. In 1980, LEGO lovers expressed their love for the company by building a huge tower of 13.1 meters from this designer. Impressive, isn't it? But do not think that this is the tallest tower created from LEGO. Not at all! At the end of the 90s, a tower of LEGO 24.88 meters was built in Moscow. She entered the Guinness Book of Records.
The success of the space, and some other LEGO sets was overwhelming. But even more, the company received from the set "Castle", which was released in 1984. The theme of the Middle Ages was very popular among fans of LEGO products. In the same year, experimental models from the Lego set were shown. After 2 years, the project was seriously developed, becoming in some way a conductor of schoolchildren into the world of dating robots. This set was specially developed for educational purposes, but has gained great popularity all over the world, despite the price and complexity.
In the late 80s new LEGO kits appeared constantly. In addition, the company’s amusement park developed. In 1986, LEGO became a supplier of toys for the royal court of Denmark. Honorary title, which is the best advertisement.
In the 1990s, LEGO will be successfully sold all over the world, which is flooded with numerous fakes, like Atko. Nevertheless, they will all differ from the original in their much lower quality (which, however, will be confirmed by price).
Nowadays
Now the LEGO company is at the stage of overcoming the protracted crisis. Simple toys have lost their appeal due to the widespread distribution of computer games. In addition, the Danish company some time ago became a real victim of diversification. The LEGO perfume sets, clothing, and many other things began to appear, which greatly hurt the brand and only caused losses, which in 2003 amounted to about $ 300 million. In addition, the company was not very efficiently put into production, because of what it was losing money, did not minimize the costs to the maximum. In order to remedy this deplorable situation, LEGO invited the CEO Jorgen Wig Knudstorp, who immediately got down to business.
First, he transferred production to cheaper countries. Secondly, he refused from unprofitable businesses and innovations in the company. In addition, Jorgen has paid serious attention to the company on the Internet, where it can receive new ideas from its customers.
Things LEGO went on the mend. And I want to believe that the company will regain its former glory, not having buried under the weight of computer games.
Source: BizTimes .
However, the company managed to grow to such a size that its famous designers began to copy other companies-pirates, which produced similar sets of toys in batches. But Seth Godin once said: "If you are copied, it means that you really did something wonderful."
Childhood ... wooden toys
')
The history of LEGO dates back to 1932, when Ole Kirk Christiansen founded a company for the production of everyday goods in Denmark. Ole made products from a tree, thus initially the main profit of the company was brought by ladders and ironing boards, the demand for which fell sharply during the global financial crisis.
It was necessary to look for a new niche. And Ole saw her in the production of wooden toys, as the demand for them did not weaken even in difficult financial times. At that time, his son, who had been working with his father since he was 12, was the main assistant to Ole.
Starting the release of toys, Christiansen began to look for a name for his company. He gave the task to all factory workers to offer their own version of the name. There were many offers, but in the end they chose what the founder himself had invented - the word LEGO, which originated from the other two - Leg and Godt, which together mean “play well”. A few years later, the founder learned that the very phrase “LEGO” in Latin means “I learn” or “I add up”. Obviously, this realization has seriously affected the future history of the company.
Although, to talk about that over the name the whole company thought too loud. At that time, only 7 people worked at LEGO, enthusiastic carpenters, who enjoyed the creation of new things. And they already cared about the quality of products. Over their workplaces an inscription hung on the wall by Ole Christiansen: "Only the best is worthy."
By 1936, the company already had at its disposal a set of 42 different toys. At the same time, all of them were already far from the cheapest pleasure (now the LEGO is, as before, quite expensive). At the same time, the company still continued to produce not only toys, but also other wood products.
In the 40s many changes occurred in the history of the company. First, its only factory burned down. Immediately after the restoration, it became clear that now LEGO will be engaged only in toys. The growth of the staff lasted all these years and reached 40 people by 1943, and exactly a year later Christiansenes finally registered the company officially, calling it “LegetOjsfabrikken LEGO Billund A / S”.
In 1947, a significant event took place that forever turned the history of the company. LEGO receives the rights to develop an English psychologist Mr. Hilary Harry Fisher Page'a. Actually, it was a small plastic cube that could be connected with other similar parts, so you could even assemble some small structure, which, however, was not very suitable for fastening at that time, and therefore just as quickly disintegrated and was going to. But this is a start. By that time, his son Ole Gottfried was already 30 years old, and he was no less involved in the affairs of the company than his father. Gottfried understood that the future is precisely for such toys.
The LEGO began to gradually move away from the tree, in favor of plastic. Therefore, Christians are acquiring this year the largest plastic casting form in Denmark, which allows them to put the production of such toys on stream (I must say that the Danes had to lay out as much as 30 thousand local crowns for this form, which is a lot of then cost 36 crowns).
In the late 40s, the company had about 200 different models of plastic and wooden toys. But the LEGO was still not what we know it today. The cubes for which LEGO received the rights were not yet suitable for a full-fledged designer. Therefore, they were not issued. Up until 1958, when (already) the head of the company, Gottfried Christiansen, did not patent the system of building blocks from cubes. It was a completely new system, allowing much more durable to interconnect the details of the designer. Now he could be called that way. Constructor.
However, before the appearance of the famous LEGO cubes, another important event occurred under the leadership of Gottfried. In 1955 the LEGO thematic set of toys was released. It was a prototype of what we will see in many years when the company begins to release its most popular thematic series (space, city, knights, cowboys, and so on). The first sets have become very popular.
The new future of the LEGO brand
In 1960, the company’s workshop, which produces wooden toys under the LEGO brand, burns down. The company came to the conclusion that they would not resume their production, and the repaired workshop would be engaged in plastic. By that time, LEGO had already sold 50 sets of its designer in many countries of the world. And in 1962, the private airline LEGO was opened. Designers began to carry in the United States.
Undoubtedly, access to this super-profit market has become a very important event for the Danes, who were trying to increase the sales of their toys all over the world. 2 years after the opening of his runway, LEGO begins to deliver a small assembly instruction in its set of designers, which indicates what needs to be done to assemble the model shown on the package. Soon the instructions will become an integral part of each set in LEGO.
In addition, at this time, the company begins to work more closely with customers, thereby improving the quality of designers. LEGO was one of those firms that asked the client what it needed. And only then proceeded to the development of goods. Such cooperation resulted in the appearance of a super successful project - a set of railways from the LEGO designer.
Needless to say, by the mid-60s, more than half a thousand people worked at the main LEGO factory.
But on this the company has not ceased to evolve. In 1967 the cube DUPLO was born, which became a key figure in the same-named set for young children. While the company was patenting new developments, they were already thinking about the opening of the LEGOLAND park, which appeared in Denmark a year after the appearance of the DUPLO, in the city of Billund.
In addition, critics have also appreciated LEGO this year. She won the award for the best toy of the year in Luxembourg. But it was still the beginning of the formation of the company, conquering children's hearts ...
The rapid development of the LEGO range
If we talk about the products of LEGO of those years, it may seem that the company focused exclusively on the representatives of the male half of humanity. This is not entirely true, as the products for girls in the LEGO assortment were also. For example, in the 70s produced doll houses with furniture. And the Duplo project was equally designed for both girls and boys. Although, of course, even today, most of the LEGO products are created with a slant on the male audience. And this is not discrimination, they simply love designers.
In 1973, the famous LEGO logo was developed, which today is known to most people on the planet. After the appearance of the new logo, the company began to open production outside Denmark. The first country to host the LEGO factory was the highland Switzerland.
By 1977, the company LEGO was headed by the grandson of Ole Christiansen Keld. By that time, LEGO had already released many different sets for every taste, among which were even some kind of technical solutions. At this time, kits appeared containing figures with moving limbs. It was in 1979 that the first truly thematic LEGO set appeared, which would begin the classification of the company's products right up to the present day - this will be the LEGOLAND Space set. Cosmos will be just the beginning for LEGO. But a very successful start.
The LEGO assortment grew by leaps and bounds. But most importantly, consumers adored the products of this company. She was really original, attractive, interesting. In 1980, LEGO lovers expressed their love for the company by building a huge tower of 13.1 meters from this designer. Impressive, isn't it? But do not think that this is the tallest tower created from LEGO. Not at all! At the end of the 90s, a tower of LEGO 24.88 meters was built in Moscow. She entered the Guinness Book of Records.
The success of the space, and some other LEGO sets was overwhelming. But even more, the company received from the set "Castle", which was released in 1984. The theme of the Middle Ages was very popular among fans of LEGO products. In the same year, experimental models from the Lego set were shown. After 2 years, the project was seriously developed, becoming in some way a conductor of schoolchildren into the world of dating robots. This set was specially developed for educational purposes, but has gained great popularity all over the world, despite the price and complexity.
In the late 80s new LEGO kits appeared constantly. In addition, the company’s amusement park developed. In 1986, LEGO became a supplier of toys for the royal court of Denmark. Honorary title, which is the best advertisement.
In the 1990s, LEGO will be successfully sold all over the world, which is flooded with numerous fakes, like Atko. Nevertheless, they will all differ from the original in their much lower quality (which, however, will be confirmed by price).
Nowadays
Now the LEGO company is at the stage of overcoming the protracted crisis. Simple toys have lost their appeal due to the widespread distribution of computer games. In addition, the Danish company some time ago became a real victim of diversification. The LEGO perfume sets, clothing, and many other things began to appear, which greatly hurt the brand and only caused losses, which in 2003 amounted to about $ 300 million. In addition, the company was not very efficiently put into production, because of what it was losing money, did not minimize the costs to the maximum. In order to remedy this deplorable situation, LEGO invited the CEO Jorgen Wig Knudstorp, who immediately got down to business.
First, he transferred production to cheaper countries. Secondly, he refused from unprofitable businesses and innovations in the company. In addition, Jorgen has paid serious attention to the company on the Internet, where it can receive new ideas from its customers.
Things LEGO went on the mend. And I want to believe that the company will regain its former glory, not having buried under the weight of computer games.
Source: BizTimes .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/37145/
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