MatthewUSA Posted February 20, 2008 Posted February 20, 2008 I am glad to hear about the news from Lego on their revenue. I would like to add that there will need to be some major changes here in the US for the market here to rebound. Unfortunetly the cost of basic necessities in this country has taken precedence over hobbies & entertainment for some people. The costs to just survive have become so great, that many of us Americans are unable to spend our hard earned pay on ourselves. I hope to see this trend change not only for TLC's sake, but for America's sake this year. I especially would like to be able to spend even a little bit more on my Lego hobby. The almighty US dollar is no longer almighty anymore. I hope for all of us this recession we are facing will turn a tide this year. This means more Lego sets for everyone :-P . Model On!! Quote
snefroe Posted February 20, 2008 Posted February 20, 2008 thanks so much for this report! *sweet* even though i have to say it puzzles me... not so long ago Jan Beyer himself said that EF sales collapsed in 2007, but for some reason that has no effect on global sales, nor on profits? |-/ i'm also wondering about the sales of smaller lines like Aquaraiders, Spongebob, Batman or Mars Mission. Did those do well, within expectations,... ? and what about the sales of the exclusives? Does Lego feel the "exclusive formula" to be the way for the future, did these sets sell very well,...? How 'bout the Lego pab at S@h? Did that do well? hm... so many questions on my mind... Quote
Shadows Posted February 20, 2008 Posted February 20, 2008 Nice to see that things are going reasonably well in these financially challenging days. Trim back a bit more waste, refocus a line or two, and next year could be even better. Just as an example of a way to refocus a line, dump the Mars jellies. Seriously, if you can figure out how to launch a new Castle line that harkens back to days of old and then keep adding new factions to it, take a cue from that and do it to Space. Treat the jellies like the skellies (I rhymed, heh) and cut back on them, adding a new alien race, or some evil humans, or even some decent robots. Figure out a way to make them appeal to the Star Wars fans and you'll definitely see the line perk up. Do it right, and you might even reclaim some of the EF fans who are sad to see their line go. thanks so much for this report! *sweet* even though i have to say it puzzles me... not so long ago Jan Beyer himself said that EF sales collapsed in 2007, but for some reason that has no effect on global sales, nor on profits? |-/ i'm also wondering about the sales of smaller lines like Aquaraiders, Spongebob, Batman or Mars Mission. Did those do well, within expectations,... ? and what about the sales of the exclusives? Does Lego feel the "exclusive formula" to be the way for the future, did these sets sell very well,...? How 'bout the Lego pab at S@h? Did that do well? hm... so many questions on my mind... I'm betting that both Star Wars and the vastly improved Castle line took up the slack for the sagging EF sales. I think the slow release schedules for Spongebob and Batman probably bode poorly for their futures, but LEGO seems to want to hold on to them (and I hope they do, I don't have a problem with either line even though I don't buy SB). The online PAB is consistantly in the top 25 sellers here in the US, and is frequently #1. I think a lot of people add a few parts on to every order they make (I usually find something to pick up). Just hard to gauge how much actual money that amounts to. Quote
Visorak-kal Posted February 20, 2008 Posted February 20, 2008 So, LEGO City was the year's top line? Surprising, actually, as I really don't see loads of city products when I go to stores. BIONICLE seems to take up most of the shelf space, in fact. Glad to see that City is remaining strong, as although I don't buy any of it I believe it is a very educational and thoughtful theme. The world would be in a sad state indeed if its children had no interest in city themes. The 2008 CITY seems to be just as good, I wonder how its sales will do. LEGO Star Wars I knew would remain a hit, and LEGO Creator came out with some great stuff this year. I was also overjoyed to see that BIONICLE remained a top-selling line, though from news I heard via Greg Farshtey, I was not surprised to see that it did not grow. 2008 BIONICLE should be very interesting, as the implementation of those large vehicles could either cause the line to grow or diminish it. Furthermore, we've got those price increases which LEGO believes the line can survive... For those Exo-Force fans, remember that the sales did not meet expectations. That doesn't mean that the sales dropped tremendously or anything like that, it merely means that they weren't high enough to merit continuing the line through 2009. I wonder how Castle did. I like this new LEGO corporate strategy of creating long-lasting dependable lines. I remember the days of Orient Expedition, Sports here, Sports there, and single-year lines that didn't last long at all. Also, notice how sales improved with the "realistic" LEGO City. I agree, definitely an improvement over the way-<insert that tiresome argument> World City from 2003-2004. Mars Mission seems to be selling well, as it was continued into summer. Still, I don't see how far you can take a line like that. Certainly not as far as Castle. We've got skeletons and now trolls and dwarves, there is still room for elves if they want to go that route or even more human factions such as rogues or dark armies. So long as they avoid the KK2 route. As for exclusives, within the report I noticed they advertised the Millenium Falcon UCE, something I doubt they would have mentioned if it had been a failure. So at least large SW exclusives seem to be surviving. I think Green Grocer this year is a sign that Market Street and Cafe Corner may have sold well enough to try another. As for the U.S. remember that Recession is bound to hit rock bottom and them come up again. It is only a matter of time before things fluctuate again and the dollar rebounds. Economy is an up and down thing, but in any case I'm sure the government doesn't want to end up with rock bottom. VK Quote
steelharbingerofdeath Posted February 20, 2008 Posted February 20, 2008 well perhaps you don't see as much city because it is more popular. and bought more often leaving.... less popular... lines such as bionicle to waste take up space. steel... Quote
Visorak-kal Posted February 20, 2008 Posted February 20, 2008 (edited) well perhaps you don't see as much city because it is more popular. and bought more often leaving.... less popular... lines such as bionicle to waste take up space.steel... I thought that, too, but it isn't like the spaces are empty. Instead, they are taken up mostly with stuff like Star Wars, Castle, Mars Mission, etc. It is just that City is not given much shelf space. But that could just be my area. BIONICLE is the only space that is pretty much empty a lot, but they still give it a load of shelf room. Really makes no difference to me, though, as I order most of my sets online. VK Edited February 20, 2008 by Visorak-kal Quote
Dadster Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 Thanks legomilk... Good for them! I'm not surprised that City and SW were mentioned as top sellers, but did Castle not well enough to merit mention? As a Lib Arts Grad, I'm not one for wrapping my head around business phrases and the whatnot... Was anything mentioned in regards to increase in costs? Did the increase in revenue come from increased prices (if any)? Quote
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