7 ms·

> IMO LEGO thrives thanks to their relentless focus on product quality. I'm sure that doesn't hurt, but these days LEGO thrives because of their relentless pro

by ebg13 7y ago

> IMO LEGO thrives thanks to their relentless focus on product quality. I'm sure that doesn't hurt, but these days LEGO thrives because of their relentless promotional brand tie-ins. It's not just LEGO anymore. It's LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Batman, LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO Disney's Frozen, LEGO Toy Story 4, and so on.

jncraton 7y ago
You aren't wrong, but the two are tightly related. LEGO's competitors are also selling many licensed products, but LEGO's position as the best quality brand in the market has allowed them to secure contracts for the most popular IP (Star Wars, Marvel, Minecraft, etc). Their competitors are left with less popular or less family-friendly IP such as Halo or Star Trek. Its also worth noting that some of LEGO's competitors don't worry too much about IP laws. You can buy a clone brand X-wing for 50% of the cost of the genuine set, but the quality is significantly lower in my experience.
- TylerE 7y ago
  Part of that is that LEGO has a policy against making any models including guns.
  - Larrikin 7y ago
    I read this, believed it, and repeated it to a friend in a Lego store. My friend then pointed out that there are tons of models with guns and many other weapons. I think the actual policy is that their original nonlicensed models don't feature modern day guns or military vehicles, but they are totally fine making models with guns and weapons of war so long as they are from the fantasy world or they are not modern.
    - Shaddox 7y ago
      I happen to own Lego sets of pirates, which also happen to be my favorites. They have cutlass, pistols, muskets, barrels of rum, jugs of moonshine and other piratey/armada things.
    - bluetomcat 7y ago
      The Lego Western theme from 1996 had masked minifigs, rifles, revolvers, fired dynamite, wads of cash and bank robberies.
    - dbcurtis 7y ago
      pfft. Built any “City” theme sets lately? All the police minifigs pack pretty realistic-looking semi-autos.
      - scandinavegan 7y ago
        Do you have a reference to an official Lego City set with semi-autos? I find that hard to believe.
        dbcurtis 7y ago
        https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?q=gun https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?q=gun try this
        scandinavegan 7y ago
        I still don't see it. There are sci-fi guns like blasters, historical guns like flintlocks, and there are guns used in superhero sets, but nothing for Lego City or any other set that claims to represent real life.
        dagw 7y ago
        https://warehouse19.se/images/normal/1-1981-.jpg https://warehouse19.se/images/normal/1-1981-.jpg Admittedly a revolver and not a semi-auto, and I don't know if it's from a current or recently discontinued set. But it's definitely from a modern set. edit: link to the specific piece: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=13562#T=C https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=1356...
        scandinavegan 7y ago
        In the first picture, is that from an actual Lego City set, or has someone added the revolver to the police officer from another set? The BrickLink page lists the revolver as part of a bunch of western and cavalry sets, that is, historical sets. Click "Item Appears In: 7 Sets" to the right.
    - celticninja 7y ago
      It is modern military and weapons that are not made. Not weapons per se
      - Symbiote 7y ago
        This is the best Quora answer I've ever seen. It has illustrations! https://www.quora.com/When-did-LEGO-set-start-containing-contemporary-weapons https://www.quora.com/When-did-LEGO-set-start-containing-con... The introduction of weapons was gradual, and except for Batman, they are either historical or futuristic. From my observations as a foreigner in Denmark, historical or fantasy weapons like swords, spears, shields, clubs acceptable and common. A 6 year old might have a wooden one, and be seen anywhere in the city. A 16 year old might have a foam and fibreglass one, and be seen LARPing in the woods at the weekend. A gun that isn't clearly a water pistol is a rare sight.
        arrrg 7y ago
        If you want an overview of minifigure weapons Lego has used over the years you can get a pretty complete picture here: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?v=2&pg=1&catString=19&sortBy=Y&sortAsc=D&itemBrand=1000&catType=P https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?v=2&pg=1&catString... Even though Lego sets do sometimes include weapons, even very gun-like weapons, to me there is still a pretty clear line Lego draws. Their City sets don’t include guns and guns are the exception, not the rule, otherwise. Look at Lego’s competitors if you want to get an idea of what Lego could be doing. Obviously those are looking for their niche, so that’s to be expected. They have modern and 20th century military equipment sets and I could never imagine Lego releasing sets like that.
        bhaak 7y ago
        > Their City sets don’t include guns and guns are the exception, not the rule, otherwise. That line got me thinking. I think you are right and I've never seen a police minifig with a weapon.
  - jimmcslim 7y ago
    http://brickarms.com http://brickarms.com fills this niche.
- mcphage 7y ago
  > You can buy a clone brand X-wing for 50% of the cost of the genuine set, but the quality is significantly lower in my experience. Often the knockoff sets are around 25% of the Lego price—I bought a Lepin Porsche for >$80 instead of $300. And the quality was 85%-90% of Lego. So slightly lower, but at a quarter of the price—and price is a feature.
- xenocyon 7y ago
  I grew up with Lego in the 1980s; back then they had zero or few tie-ins with branding other than Shell IIRC. There were also fewer specialized pieces, meaning greater emphasis on kids' using their imagination.
  - replicatorblog 7y ago
    This is an often stated criticism of modern Lego designs, but I wonder if anyone has tried to test this empirically? E.g. if you gave a group of kids a "classic" set and another a themed set, with no further instructions, would the first group produce more "creative" designs? I think the critics of the branded sets undervalue the Piagetian concept of scaffolding, basically that having the Harry Potter superstructure allows kids to riff on a variety of concepts that actually may be more "creative" than the random geometric blocks. E.g. "What if we built a jail around Voldermort instead of killing him" seems like an equally valuable expression of creativity as "I made a vaguely car-shaped thing, but it has six wheels instead of four and has those little lever bricks instead of a steering wheel."
    - bluetomcat 7y ago
      Let's do a direct comparison of [1] "70412-1: Soldiers Fort" (2015) to [2] "6263-1: Imperial Outpost" (1995): - Older set has a big baseplate which enables a child to start building a new structure easily - Older set has well-pronounced architectural elements like arcs and slopes and feels like a solid structure, newer set feels airy and ad-hoc - Older set has minifigs with a simple paint, newer set has cartoon-like characters - Older set has a more realistic colour scheme, newer set again feels cartoonish - Older set has a specially designed backside for playing and putting minifigs [1] https://brickset.com/sets/70412-1/Soldiers-Fort https://brickset.com/sets/70412-1/Soldiers-Fort [2] https://brickset.com/sets/6263-1/Imperial-Outpost https://brickset.com/sets/6263-1/Imperial-Outpost
      - rdtwo 7y ago
        They look like different tiers of sets the first one is like a 20$ set while the second is a 10$ one
martin_bech 7y ago
Thats not completely true, I know people at LEGO, and the best selling sets are Legos own Lego City and Lego Friends.
- sethammons 7y ago
  Best selling doesn't necessarily mean most profitable.
  - jonathanlydall 7y ago
    It seems unlikely that they are making more profit per licensed set because they are likely having to pay a cut to a third party (for example, Disney gets a cut of each Star Wars set sold). So if their license free sets sell better, then it would stand to reason they make more profit off of these.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - varjag 7y ago
      And a licensed set often has to amortize the cost of tooling made specifically for it.
      - jacquesm 7y ago
        LEGO is very good at recycling shapes in different colors as special parts for sets. The biggest tooling costs are in the minifigs for special sets, those are almost always there because custom minifigs are an easy way to make a set unique. That way you drive sales because people can't make the set from loose parts.
  - Tomte 7y ago
    Profits are certainly higher with Friends and City than with Star Wars. Lego saves a lot on licensing there. And the Star Wars sets are a bit more pricey, but per piece the difference isn't that big.
env123 7y ago
If LEGO can make sure that stepping on them wouldn't hurt, that's a product quality improvement to me
_the_inflator 7y ago
Yes, and also their shops are more like a DIY warehouse/hardware store, where you get inspired. I was only about some plastic bricks, ecommerce would suffice. I really think it is the kind of fantasy/DIY/inspiration that you only get from direct experience. LEGO is the new hardware store.
grahamel 7y ago
also it seems they thrive on their focus on price - I'm sure a fair part of that is in the licencing of the tie-ins - but you never see them in a race to the bottom
replicatorblog 7y ago
This is accurate, but the sense I get is that there's a deliberate effort to move from licensed IP to Lego-created brands. E.g. there are vastly more "Friends" kits, the Lego house brand targeted at girls, than Disney princesses. Ninjago has become a perennial answer to the sword fighting action that Star Wars only delivers intermittently. Lego's new "Hidden Side" brand seems clearly targeted at being a Lego-owned alternative to Harry Potter with alternative schools, trains, buses, etc. I also get the sense that the 3rd party licenses are actually more focused towards the "Adult Fan of Lego/AFOL" community, e.g. the $200 Stranger Things kit, the $399 Disney Castle, and the $799 Millenium Falcon seem priced well above even what generous parents will spend on birthday/holiday gifts. It would be interesting to see the sales breakdown between in-house and licensed brands and how it's shifting over time.
- blacksmith_tb 7y ago
  As the parent of a Lego-consuming youngster I have to agree - but it's also interesting to watch Lego try to create lines that fail to thrive (compare Chima to Ninjago, both started at about the same time, only one remains...) Partly that seems to be about story-telling, maybe ninjas just easier to work with.
  - kyriakos 7y ago
    Lego Ninjago cartoon is actually quite good. Its on season 9 if i am not mistaken and the movie was pretty good too. Considering its an own brand - it's doing well.

by ebg13 7y ago

jncraton 7y ago

You aren't wrong, but the two are tightly related. LEGO's competitors are also selling many licensed products, but LEGO's position as the best quality brand in the market has allowed them to secure contracts for the most popular IP (Star Wars, Marvel, Minecraft, etc). Their competitors are left with less popular or less family-friendly IP such as Halo or Star Trek. Its also worth noting that some of LEGO's competitors don't worry too much about IP laws. You can buy a clone brand X-wing for 50% of the cost of the genuine set, but the quality is significantly lower in my experience.

TylerE 7y ago
Part of that is that LEGO has a policy against making any models including guns.
- Larrikin 7y ago
  I read this, believed it, and repeated it to a friend in a Lego store. My friend then pointed out that there are tons of models with guns and many other weapons. I think the actual policy is that their original nonlicensed models don't feature modern day guns or military vehicles, but they are totally fine making models with guns and weapons of war so long as they are from the fantasy world or they are not modern.
  - Shaddox 7y ago
    I happen to own Lego sets of pirates, which also happen to be my favorites. They have cutlass, pistols, muskets, barrels of rum, jugs of moonshine and other piratey/armada things.
  - bluetomcat 7y ago
    The Lego Western theme from 1996 had masked minifigs, rifles, revolvers, fired dynamite, wads of cash and bank robberies.
  - dbcurtis 7y ago
    pfft. Built any “City” theme sets lately? All the police minifigs pack pretty realistic-looking semi-autos.
    - scandinavegan 7y ago
      Do you have a reference to an official Lego City set with semi-autos? I find that hard to believe.
      - dbcurtis 7y ago
        https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?q=gun https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?q=gun try this
        scandinavegan 7y ago
        I still don't see it. There are sci-fi guns like blasters, historical guns like flintlocks, and there are guns used in superhero sets, but nothing for Lego City or any other set that claims to represent real life.
        dagw 7y ago
        https://warehouse19.se/images/normal/1-1981-.jpg https://warehouse19.se/images/normal/1-1981-.jpg Admittedly a revolver and not a semi-auto, and I don't know if it's from a current or recently discontinued set. But it's definitely from a modern set. edit: link to the specific piece: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=13562#T=C https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=1356...
        scandinavegan 7y ago
        In the first picture, is that from an actual Lego City set, or has someone added the revolver to the police officer from another set? The BrickLink page lists the revolver as part of a bunch of western and cavalry sets, that is, historical sets. Click "Item Appears In: 7 Sets" to the right.
  - celticninja 7y ago
    It is modern military and weapons that are not made. Not weapons per se
    - Symbiote 7y ago
      This is the best Quora answer I've ever seen. It has illustrations! https://www.quora.com/When-did-LEGO-set-start-containing-contemporary-weapons https://www.quora.com/When-did-LEGO-set-start-containing-con... The introduction of weapons was gradual, and except for Batman, they are either historical or futuristic. From my observations as a foreigner in Denmark, historical or fantasy weapons like swords, spears, shields, clubs acceptable and common. A 6 year old might have a wooden one, and be seen anywhere in the city. A 16 year old might have a foam and fibreglass one, and be seen LARPing in the woods at the weekend. A gun that isn't clearly a water pistol is a rare sight.
      - arrrg 7y ago
        If you want an overview of minifigure weapons Lego has used over the years you can get a pretty complete picture here: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?v=2&pg=1&catString=19&sortBy=Y&sortAsc=D&itemBrand=1000&catType=P https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?v=2&pg=1&catString... Even though Lego sets do sometimes include weapons, even very gun-like weapons, to me there is still a pretty clear line Lego draws. Their City sets don’t include guns and guns are the exception, not the rule, otherwise. Look at Lego’s competitors if you want to get an idea of what Lego could be doing. Obviously those are looking for their niche, so that’s to be expected. They have modern and 20th century military equipment sets and I could never imagine Lego releasing sets like that.
        bhaak 7y ago
        > Their City sets don’t include guns and guns are the exception, not the rule, otherwise. That line got me thinking. I think you are right and I've never seen a police minifig with a weapon.
- jimmcslim 7y ago
  http://brickarms.com http://brickarms.com fills this niche.
mcphage 7y ago
> You can buy a clone brand X-wing for 50% of the cost of the genuine set, but the quality is significantly lower in my experience. Often the knockoff sets are around 25% of the Lego price—I bought a Lepin Porsche for >$80 instead of $300. And the quality was 85%-90% of Lego. So slightly lower, but at a quarter of the price—and price is a feature.
xenocyon 7y ago
I grew up with Lego in the 1980s; back then they had zero or few tie-ins with branding other than Shell IIRC. There were also fewer specialized pieces, meaning greater emphasis on kids' using their imagination.
- replicatorblog 7y ago
  This is an often stated criticism of modern Lego designs, but I wonder if anyone has tried to test this empirically? E.g. if you gave a group of kids a "classic" set and another a themed set, with no further instructions, would the first group produce more "creative" designs? I think the critics of the branded sets undervalue the Piagetian concept of scaffolding, basically that having the Harry Potter superstructure allows kids to riff on a variety of concepts that actually may be more "creative" than the random geometric blocks. E.g. "What if we built a jail around Voldermort instead of killing him" seems like an equally valuable expression of creativity as "I made a vaguely car-shaped thing, but it has six wheels instead of four and has those little lever bricks instead of a steering wheel."
  - bluetomcat 7y ago
    Let's do a direct comparison of [1] "70412-1: Soldiers Fort" (2015) to [2] "6263-1: Imperial Outpost" (1995): - Older set has a big baseplate which enables a child to start building a new structure easily - Older set has well-pronounced architectural elements like arcs and slopes and feels like a solid structure, newer set feels airy and ad-hoc - Older set has minifigs with a simple paint, newer set has cartoon-like characters - Older set has a more realistic colour scheme, newer set again feels cartoonish - Older set has a specially designed backside for playing and putting minifigs [1] https://brickset.com/sets/70412-1/Soldiers-Fort https://brickset.com/sets/70412-1/Soldiers-Fort [2] https://brickset.com/sets/6263-1/Imperial-Outpost https://brickset.com/sets/6263-1/Imperial-Outpost
    - rdtwo 7y ago
      They look like different tiers of sets the first one is like a 20$ set while the second is a 10$ one

martin_bech 7y ago

Thats not completely true, I know people at LEGO, and the best selling sets are Legos own Lego City and Lego Friends.

sethammons 7y ago
Best selling doesn't necessarily mean most profitable.
- jonathanlydall 7y ago
  It seems unlikely that they are making more profit per licensed set because they are likely having to pay a cut to a third party (for example, Disney gets a cut of each Star Wars set sold). So if their license free sets sell better, then it would stand to reason they make more profit off of these.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - varjag 7y ago
    And a licensed set often has to amortize the cost of tooling made specifically for it.
    - jacquesm 7y ago
      LEGO is very good at recycling shapes in different colors as special parts for sets. The biggest tooling costs are in the minifigs for special sets, those are almost always there because custom minifigs are an easy way to make a set unique. That way you drive sales because people can't make the set from loose parts.
- Tomte 7y ago
  Profits are certainly higher with Friends and City than with Star Wars. Lego saves a lot on licensing there. And the Star Wars sets are a bit more pricey, but per piece the difference isn't that big.

env123 7y ago

If LEGO can make sure that stepping on them wouldn't hurt, that's a product quality improvement to me

_the_inflator 7y ago

Yes, and also their shops are more like a DIY warehouse/hardware store, where you get inspired. I was only about some plastic bricks, ecommerce would suffice. I really think it is the kind of fantasy/DIY/inspiration that you only get from direct experience. LEGO is the new hardware store.

grahamel 7y ago

also it seems they thrive on their focus on price - I'm sure a fair part of that is in the licencing of the tie-ins - but you never see them in a race to the bottom

replicatorblog 7y ago

This is accurate, but the sense I get is that there's a deliberate effort to move from licensed IP to Lego-created brands. E.g. there are vastly more "Friends" kits, the Lego house brand targeted at girls, than Disney princesses. Ninjago has become a perennial answer to the sword fighting action that Star Wars only delivers intermittently. Lego's new "Hidden Side" brand seems clearly targeted at being a Lego-owned alternative to Harry Potter with alternative schools, trains, buses, etc. I also get the sense that the 3rd party licenses are actually more focused towards the "Adult Fan of Lego/AFOL" community, e.g. the $200 Stranger Things kit, the $399 Disney Castle, and the $799 Millenium Falcon seem priced well above even what generous parents will spend on birthday/holiday gifts. It would be interesting to see the sales breakdown between in-house and licensed brands and how it's shifting over time.

blacksmith_tb 7y ago
As the parent of a Lego-consuming youngster I have to agree - but it's also interesting to watch Lego try to create lines that fail to thrive (compare Chima to Ninjago, both started at about the same time, only one remains...) Partly that seems to be about story-telling, maybe ninjas just easier to work with.
- kyriakos 7y ago
  Lego Ninjago cartoon is actually quite good. Its on season 9 if i am not mistaken and the movie was pretty good too. Considering its an own brand - it's doing well.