
Lego is so popular, it can’t keep up with demand - davidbarker
http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/7/12829974/lego-sales-2016-growth-demand-factory-strain
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qq66
Companies that quickly expand to meet sudden demand find themselves over
capitalized when the demand inevitably drops, and often bankrupt soon
afterwards.

Lego has always been managed for the long term and I assume they will grow
production capacity only to the extent that they believe the demand growth is
structural and not cyclical.

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eternauta3k
They could raise prices if they didn't mind the negative PR.

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carsongross
But why?

The glory of privately held companies is that they can say "Enough. There are
things more important to me than another dollar."

And when I say "they" I literally mean a small group of humans, able to
project non-monetary desire onto corporate behavior. The abstraction of public
ownership does away with this, leaving only "more".

~~~
bitwize
And that's the difference between conservative but revolutionary, in it for
the long haul private Nintendo and trend-chasing, Super Mario Run, "we have
shareholders to appease, let's throw anything at the wall and see what sticks
but in the meantime here are a few tentpole franchise remakes/rehashes" public
Nintendo.

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behnamoh
This post reminds me: History repeats itself.

Once upon a time, we moved from 16-bit graphics to 32-bit and more. Everything
seemed so lively and real. Windows XP icons suddenly became so lovely.

Now, it looks like we're bored with these great graphics again, and want to go
back to the 80s and 90s. So we build games and animations that resemble that
16-bit graphics.

Odd thing is, now we watch 16-bit, pixelified faces on 32-bit Full HD screens.

A few years later, all this hype about "flat design" will subside, and we'll
miss XP icons again.

And so it goes on and on...

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vollmond
Just like fashion, just like music, just like everything involving aesthetics,
no? It's cyclic.

~~~
behnamoh
Yeah, exactly like fashion.

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petilon
Grown-ups can play with Lego too! Here's a GBC (Great Ball Contraption); looks
like lots of fun:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUtS52lqL5w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUtS52lqL5w)

~~~
todd8
Thanks for the link. I've been to Lego Land in San Diego and seen Lego
exhibits before, but I've never seen anything like the GBC!

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AstroJetson
It does, but for some of us Legomaniacs it explains why some things are hard
to find.

But you need to wonder, do people throw Lego away? Hopefully they get handed
down from generation to generation.

~~~
jpindar
Apparently there's quite a market for used Lego.

[http://embedded.fm/episodes/157](http://embedded.fm/episodes/157)

~~~
douche
[http://www.bricklink.com/catalog.asp](http://www.bricklink.com/catalog.asp)

You can find almost anything.

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ddebernardy
Pretty cool. And far cry from the hole they were into a few years ago:

[http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/innovation-
almost...](http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/innovation-almost-
bankrupted-lego-until-it-rebuilt-with-a-better-blueprint/)

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donbronson
Seems to me the biggest takeaway from the article was that it was Lego's
partnerships that saved the company. Without those deals with Star Wars (for
example), the company would have not needed to meet demands in the first
place. This seems like a big lesson to learn from.

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JoshGlazebrook
Somewhat related, but how is K'nex doing these days? I was never a Lego child
growing up, I loved K'nex. The roller coaster sets, and everything else. It
just was easier to build really tall and elaborate structures without having
to have as many pieces.

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f_allwein
Also interesting that the trademark for Lego bricks has expired. Does not seem
to hurt them too much though:
[http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/09/15/eu.lego.trademark...](http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/09/15/eu.lego.trademark/)

~~~
nevster
If you've ever had the misfortune to try any of the clones, you'd understand
why - they're crap.

There's a level of quality to Lego bricks and how well they stick together.
That and the quality of the designs. Those things are missing in the clones
I've tried. (Presents to my kids from well-meaning people.)

~~~
f_allwein
Weird though, isn't it? If the design is not protected, you'd figure somebody
would make bricks of the same quality for a lower price.

Business opportunity...?

~~~
tomjen3
Unlikely. Lego has spent a lifetime learning how to make the bricks really
well. Plus the only reason they are still around are their partnership - and
you can't make a star wars lego brick, no matter how good your tolerances are.

~~~
detaro
Mega Bloks (which seems to be the biggest compatible competitor) also has a
surprising range of licensed franchises, targeting both kids (e.g. Despicable
Me, Spongebob) and adults (e.g. Halo). Still nowhere near the market power of
Lego of course.

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sandstrom
Reads like advertisement/PR-placement.

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CyberDildonics
It absolutely is, I don't know how someone wouldn't notice.

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rer
Why are Legos popular? Is it because they're like containers?

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lj3
My nephew likes them because they're one of the few toys he has where he's
encouraged to take them apart and put them back together. He can play with
them as roughly as he wants. If they break, it's no big deal, just put it back
together.

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splicer
So much plastic... they should release compostable Lego.

~~~
pjc50
The absolute volume of Lego is pretty small, and it's far more likely to be
resold than discarded because it has high resale value.

Lego that rotted would destroy the brand.

~~~
justusthane
Those bricks last _forever_ anyway, and they're almost indestructible. As a
kid I played with Legos that belonged to my parents growing up. Compostable
Legos is a terrible idea.

