Toy maker makes big blocks for kids and adults and boosts profits скачать в хорошем качестве

Toy maker makes big blocks for kids and adults and boosts profits

(26 Feb 2015) Danish toymaker Lego says it has the building blocks to global success after announcing a big boost in sales for 2014. Founded by a Danish carpenter in 1932, the current CEO is even singing about his success. It's the childhood favourite that is inspiring a new generation. Today, Danish company Lego is making more bricks than ever. At Lego's moulding factory in Billund (a small town in the Jutland peninsula of Denmark), thousands of tiny Lego pieces are flowing off the production line. In 2013, approximately 26 billion Lego elements were made here, that's around 3 million every hour. They're satisfying a growing global demand for the Danish building blocks, which only looks set to continue. The toy is now sold in more than 140 countries around the world. At a press event Wednesday (25 February), the company's president and CEO, Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, announced the company had recorded a boost in sales during 2014, a 15 percent increase in comparison to the previous year. Sales increased to 28.6 billion Danish krone ($4.35 billion USD), 'The Lego Movie' and its associated products proving particularly popular. Awesome news, according to president and CEO Vig Knudstorp, who likes to sing about his success. "It is another record-breaking year, the best year ever for the Lego Group," he says. "So just like at the Oscars or just like in the movie theatres last year, we are also dancing and singing and saying; 'Everything is awesome. everything is cool when you're part of the team. Everything is awesome when you're living in a dream." It's yet another chapter in Lego's long story, despite its relative simplicity, consumers continue to be attracted to the simple, creative nature of the blocks. No-one knows that better than, Tine Vangsbo, a senior design manager on two Lego brands including Lego Classic, a simple, child-friendly version of the toy. "Lego Classic is the essence of Lego because it's all about free creativity and it has been here since the start of Lego simply putting two bricks together and creating from free creativity your own models from your own imagination," she says. 'lego' is a combination of two Danish words meaning 'play well'. The company was founded in 1932, but it wasn't until 1958 that the famed bricks made their first appearance. In the intervening years, numerous variations on the popular concept have hit shop shelves, including Lego Duplo and Lego Technic. The first mini-figures were launched in 1978. Recent variations include Lego MindStorms, Lego Elves and Lego Creator, a grown-up version based on creative construction, according to design manager specialist, Jamie Berard. "I think actually, Lego Creator is a wonderful progression of Lego from the Lego that many people remember from their own childhood," he says. "We tend to build things that are from the world around us, so we do buildings and houses and we also do vehicles. For the children in our three-in-one line, we also do creatures, dinosaurs and things like that. It's for the kids that like to build and the adults who really enjoy an authentic representation of the world around them." Berard says Lego Creator works particularly well for Lego fans who have perhaps now grown too old for certain versions of the toy. "It may look very similar to something they had as a child, except now it has much more details, there's a little more of story-telling involved with it that appeals to them," he says. "So, it's not too far from what they already know, it's just a more adult expression." "Buy this machine, this is something you can produce with this machine." Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...