On the cover page of Bloomberg Businessweek (Dec 19 - Dec 25, 2011), is the new Lego Friends Minifigure. It is 1.8 inches tall, four years in the marking. In this issue, it reported on the company's effect to finally click with girls. Holding onto a yellow minifigure head, Friends send a message ---> watch out boys.
LEGO is for Girls! .....Focusing on boys saved the toymaker in 2005. Now the company is trying to crack the code for "the other 50 % of the world's children."
Knudstorp's daughters helped him plot Lego's next move. Knudstorp, 36 was promoted in 2004, he is the only fourth CEO of Lego Group and the first from outside the founding family.
GIRLS LIKE TO BUILD, TOO- BUT IN A MORE STORY - ORIENTED WAY
GIRLS LIKE TO BUILD, TOO- BUT IN A MORE STORY - ORIENTED WAY
THE LEGO GIRL GRAVEYARD
1979: Scala
These special bricks and tiles were printed with images of birds and flowers; instead of building cities, girls could make necklaces.1992: Paradisa
A country club, lifeguard stand and "dolphin point" rounded out the desert island theme. The beachy models lacked the detail of standard Lego.1994: Belville
Accessories for the fairy tale princesses overshadowed the building experience. Belville girls with brothers who played with classic Lego called it lame.1997: Scala Dolls
Lego relaunched the brand to feature foam shapes and fashion dolls. Simplified elements like completed walls stress doll play, not contruction.2003: Clikits
2003: Clikits Lego headed back to the jewelry box with Clikits, encourging girls to customize bracelets and room decor, nearly unrecognizable as Lego products. Knudstorp says" I don't have any illusions that the girls business will be bigger than the boys business, but at least for those who are looking for it,we have something to offer."
In U.S., Wal-Mart, Toys "R" Us and Target all plan to carry Lego Friends. Target's Stephanie Lucy, vice president and merchandise manager for toys and sports goods, says " I believe it will do very well". There will be shelves of girl-oriented toys, not with the rest of Lego.
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I read this article with much interest. My daughter likes to play with legos only when her brother also plays and they can make up stories together. Really hope LEGO has cracked the code and made legos more accessible and interesting for girls!
ReplyDeletethank you Susan, yes lego is going to be more fun for girls too.
ReplyDeleteHaving lego targeting towards girls or boys isn't a bad idea. It is fair for both genders. Why girls cannot play with lego? In a town or city, it will be great to have a combination of both.
ReplyDeleteWhat i notice is that for girls-targeted lego themes, the details, colors and presentation are excellent. It usually features so many accessories which can be added as a complement to existing set, for instance food, cups, utensils, medical equipment.
Colors from girls themes are really unique and these colors hardly appear in boy-theme sets. I believe these colors are useful for creating MOC .
I agree with you Tee. Lego Friends series is a big hit in the market!
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