Lego A/S,[6] also known as the Lego Group (stylised as the LEGO Group), is a Danish construction toy manufacturer and media company based in Billund.[7] It manufactures Lego-branded toys, consisting mostly of interlocking acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic and rubber bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks around the world, each known as Legoland, and operates numerous retail stores.
The name Lego is derived from the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning "play well".
The company was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen.[8] In the first half of 2015, the Lego Group became the world's largest toy company by revenue, with sales amounting to US$2.1 billion, surpassing Mattel, which had US$1.9 billion in sales.[9][10] As of 2025, the company is owned by the Kristiansen family via their family office, investment firm Kirkbi.[11]
History
The Lego company was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter whose primary business of producing household goods had suffered due to the Great Depression. Initially producing wooden toys, the company later developed a system of interlocking bricks. Manufacturing of plastic Lego bricks began in Denmark in 1947. After a fire in the woodworking department, Ole's son, Godtfred, decided to stop the production of wooden toys and solely focus on plastic products and the Lego system.[12] In 1961, Christiansen built the beginning of Billund Airport to facilitate the sale of Lego toys around the world.
In North America, Samsonite managed the Lego brand from 1961 until 1972 (United States) and 1986 (Canada).
The name Lego is a contraction of the Danish words "Leg godt" (English: "Play well"). However, the name also means in Latin either "I collect", "I compose", "I choose", or "I read". These additional meanings, the first three of which are very relevant, only made sense when the company started making plastic blocks with studs (Lego blocks) that could be put together.
In 1995, the company's ruling Kristiansen/Christiansen family began running the Lego Group through the Kirkbi investment firm.[13]
Trademark and patents
Since the expiry of the last standing Lego patent in 1989,[18] several companies have produced interlocking bricks that are similar to Lego bricks. The toy company Tyco Toys produced such bricks for a time; other competitors include Mega Bloks and Best-Lock. These competitor products are typically "compatible" with Lego bricks, and are often marketed at a lower cost than Lego sets.
One such competitor is Coko, manufactured by Chinese company Tianjin Coko Toy Co., Ltd. In 2002, Lego Group's Swiss subsidiary Interlego AG sued the company for copyright infringement. A trial court found many Coko bricks to be infringing; Coko was ordered to cease manufacture of the infringing bricks, publish a formal apology in the Beijing Daily, and pay a small fee in damages to Interlego. On appeal, the Beijing High People's Court upheld the trial court's ruling.[19]
In 2003, the Lego Group won a lawsuit in Norway against the marketing group Biltema for its sale of Coko products, because the company used product confusion for marketing purposes.[20]
Financial results
In 2003, the Lego Group faced a budget deficit of dkk1.4 billion (US$220 million at then-current exchange rates; equal to 175 million EU),[26] causing Poul Plougmann to be replaced by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen as president. In the following year, almost one thousand employees were laid off, due to budget cuts. However, in October 2004, on reporting an even larger deficit, Kristiansen also stepped down as president, while placing dkk800 million of his private funds into the company.[27]
In 2005, the Lego Group reported a 2004 net loss of dkk1,931 million on a total turnover, including Legoland amusement parks, of dkk7,934 million.
For 2005, the company returned a profit of dkk702 million, having increased its revenue by 12% to dkk7,050 million in 2005 against dkk315 million in 2004. It also cut expenditures and disposed of amusement parks and a factory in Switzerland.[28]
In 2011, sales for the company grew 11%, rising from US$2,847 million in 2010 to US$3,495 million in 2011. Profit for the 2011 fiscal year increased from US$661 million to US$776 million. The increased profit was due to the enormous popularity of the new brand
Legoland
The Lego Group has built eleven amusement parks around the world, each known as Legoland. Each park features large-scale Lego models of famous landmarks and miniature Lego models of famous cities, along with Lego-themed rides. The first Legoland park was built in the Lego Group's home town of Billund in Denmark in 1968.[35] This was followed by Legoland Windsor Resort in Windsor, England, Legoland California in Carlsbad, United States and Legoland Deutschland Resort in Günzburg, Germany. In addition, Legoland Sierksdorf was opened in 1973 but soon closed in 1976.
In July 2005, the Lego Group announced that it had reached a deal with private investment company Blackstone Inc. to sell all four parks for 375 million EU to the Blackstone subsidiary Merlin Entertainments. Under the terms of the deal, the Lego Group would take a NaN% share in Merlin Entertainments and positions on their board.[36] The sale of the theme parks was part of a wider strategy to restructure the company to focus on the core business of toy products.
Retail stores
The Lego Group operates 210 Lego Brand stores in North America and Europe (12 in Canada, 121 in the United States, 2 in Austria, 2 in Belgium, 1 in Czech Republic, 4 in Denmark, 9 in France, 18 in Germany, 2 in Ireland, 4 in the Netherlands, 8 in Poland, 1 in Spain, 1 in Sweden, 1 in Switzerland, 24 in the United Kingdom[40]). The Lego Group also franchised its store brand known as "Certified Stores," to third-party vendors such as the Majid Al Futtaim Group, which opened 6 stores in 2015 (4 in the United Arab Emirates, and 2 in Kuwait).[41] As of 2023, there is a total of 423 stores operated by franchisees, mostly in Australia, Asia, and South America.[42]
The Lego Group offers free "Lego Passports" at its stores, which contain blank pages to fill with
Lego Interactive
Lego Interactive (formerly Lego Media and later Lego Software) was the video game publishing division of the Lego Group.[55] The company was founded as Lego Media in 1996 and headquartered in London, England.[56] In February 1999, Lego Media announced their move into the girls' software industry, starting with Lego Friends.[57] On December 10, 2001, the company entered into a worldwide three-year agreement with Electronic Arts to co-publish and distribute new and past titles.[58][59] Eventually, the Lego Group opted out of the video game business and Lego Interactive was shut down in 2004.[60]
Production
Lego products are mass-produced, packaged and shipped on a large scale.
Lego Produktion AG was a major production facility for Lego. It was founded in Switzerland in 1974.[68] At the time of its announced closing in 2001, 30% of the world's production of Lego was produced at the Swiss facility in Baar.[69] The Baar facility eventually closed in 2004.[70]
Environmental issues
In 2014, Lego announced that it would not renew its promotional contract with Shell following a Greenpeace campaign protesting Shell's plans to drill in the Arctic. Lego CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp expressed frustration at the company being used to target Shell, while Greenpeace insisted that firms like Lego should also consider their business partners' environmental impact.[71][72]
Lego acknowledges the impact of its operations on the environment, in particular in areas such as climate change, resource and energy use and waste. The weathering of Lego bricks in the ocean over large timeframes results in smoothing, discoloration and fouling of the plastic surface. This, along with the deformation of the structure of the brick and the chemical additives that release microplastics into water, can potentially damage marine life.[73] Despite these issues, all manufacturing sites are certified according to the environmental standard ISO 14001. The first Borkum Riffgrund 1 wind turbines off the coast of Germany began producing electricity in February 2015, which would help the Lego Group reach its goal of being based 100% on renewable energy by 2020.[74]
Gender equality and human rights
In January 2014, a handwritten letter to Lego from a seven-year-old American girl, Charlotte Benjamin, received widespread attention in the media. In it, the young author complained that there were "more Lego boy people and barely any Lego girls" and observed that "all the girls did was sit at home, go to the beach, and shop, and they had no jobs, but the boys went on adventures, worked, saved people … even swam with sharks".[84][85]
In June 2014, it was announced that Lego would be launching a new "Research Institute" collection featuring female scientists including a female chemist, palaeontologist, and astronomer.[85][86] The science-themed project was selected as the latest Lego Ideas winner and was submitted by Ellen Kooijman, a geochemist in Stockholm.[87] Lego denied claims that the set was introduced to placate criticism of the company by activists, pointing to its Lego Ideas origins.
Logos
Below are historical images of the Lego logo throughout the company's existence.[95]
See also
External links
References
- Jørgen Vig Knudstorp The LEGO Group, retrieved 6 September 2017^
- Executive Leadership Team The Lego Group, retrieved 25 November 2017^
- Annual Report 2024 The LEGO Group, 11 March 2025, retrieved 24 September 2025