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The LEGOGroup: workingwith strategy
Anders BitLe
Jensen

beena successf L fanily led, innavative highgrowthcornpany thegllb.t fhe LEGj 6raup has histaricaUy and in periodaÍpaaf performance strategic toyindustry'Thenit experienced a and
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uncertainty, conpanyimpfawd its situatianin 2008and aqainin 2a09 DeveLoping Canpanyrequireson7oing the eÍÍarts
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ln its annual repo.t lor 2009 the LEGO Group announccd sales of 11.661 million DK(' (= 11397m = S21l4m =
€ 1 566m) and operating prolits o| ]002 million DKK
(=|]6om= s549m = € 4 0]m] (ligues 1 .Úd 2)' This was incleae o|22 per.ent in sales(oveY2008) a im!Íessive even more impre$ive inoease of over 50 pe. cenl and an id ptulits.Even though 2008 had beena soo.l yee frr lhe
IDCO Group with sales 19 per cent up. the performance in 2009 was even better.What made this padicularly encourasingwas thal the globaltoy markel was stagnant lookedas itthe LEGO Group in 2010
o. cven decLiDitrg.It could bc ba.k on a healthy groM{hback aftera turbulent

T | ' e c r e a t i o n é n d i n i e í n é t i r B a l€ x p a n s i o n . f i h e

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LEs0síoup

LlGo wás lbunded jn l9]2 in the village of Bi]lrrnd'
Denmark. by Ole Kirk Christialrsen and remained a lamily run lirm lbr mosl olits history. The .ompany manufactu.cd ícpladdere.ironing boards'stoolsmd wooden to],s'The woodcnioys quickly becamethe bestseljng item.In 1914 the company chDged its name to IEGO a conjunction o| the l)ánish words'LEg Godt, ('playWe]],)'
| . ' q r o | h . . o n D 2 o \ c ' é| e J o | o J u 'J 8 r a l \ \ a | o | . o| Lhewell known I,EGo plastic bricks' HoWeVer.plástic Wás lhcn a ncw matc|iala.d üe pub]iclvas hesitantto accept il preLrrins more traditionalwoodentoys.In 1958 the curcnt Lllcrlocking principle wilh studs ed tubes was invenLd aDd