A sad day for the LEGO brick

[CP5670]

IMO the quality of TLC's bricks has been deteriorating anyway and those of it's competitors can only improve and close the gap.

Competition is likely to force TLC to reduce set prices AND increase quality. Same with their competitors.

Ideally, that is how it should work, but the problem is that piece quality is simply not a serious consideration for most buyers. Competition is good in the sense that it forces manufacturers to do what the consumer base wants in order to maintain their sales, but when the vast majority of buyers want lower prices and can't see any quality differences between different brands of bricks, the companies' decisions are going to reflect that.

Even among the Lego communities, I think a lot of people are not as discriminating about part quality as they claim to be. Not many people were bothered by or even noticed the pale colored Lego bricks in the last two years. This particular situation seems to have been unintentional, but TLG surely must have taken notice of the fact that few people cared about it even in their core fanbase. Casual buyers and kids are even less likely to be bothered by such things.

Edited November 13, 2008 by CP5670

[Eilif]

Uh, guys, It's been this way for a while, and that Canadian company is Megabloks.

I know it's legal to copy LEGO, but it's called common decency... Cashing in on what someone else invented.

Here's what most people don't understand. LEGO didn't invent the product. As whitehexagon points out, Kiddiecraft of England did. LEGO copied the product, adjusted it, and made it successfull. This idea that LEGO invented the "Binding Brick" is rediculous. Over the years LEGO has, as any company would, tried to use copyright law to benefit their particular product, but they were unsuccessfull. They still hold valid copyrights and patents on many LEGO pieces and designs, but they have never had the exclusive right to make a Brick product that is compatible with 'LEGO' metrics.

LEGO has been a "protected" brand by various means in various European countries, but gradually those laws are being overturned. This may be a sad day for LEGO execs, but it's just another good day for those who value the free market and competition. Competition creates even more incentive for making your product stand out through higher quality, more innovation, and lower price.

There have been competing brands, and they have had more or less success for decades, and this decision won't really change anything, with the exception of making it slightly more likely that we will see a bit more "clone" products in Europe.

[Johnny 5]

While I think the whole situation is regrettable I don't think that that MB having more of a presence is going to make that much of a difference.

The only slip in quality we've seen over the past fews years is when they switched the color palette, there was that initial dip in quality but since I don't think we've seen things get worse. Of course there is the risk of the new color having a bad batch every now and again, but TLG has kept their customer service top notch and has not let up on that a bit, any problems you have with a sets is always solved quickly no questions asked. What LEGO needs to keep in mind through all this is that their strongest point is not the quality of the brick (which is still very important I don't want to take away from that), but the quality and variety of their sets. LEGO is lucky in this because they have an ironclad hold on this part of the market at the moment with their extensive history and the feeling of nostalgia that parents get when they buy their kids something that they played with as a kid (they probably bring in more AFOLs like that as well). What other company do you know that has stayed as true to their roots as TLG has? Matchbox is maybe the only one and I've seen some changes in them lately as well (Hot Wheels is completely gone). I'll be the first to admit that they strayed a few years back, but they payed the price for it and learned a valuable lesson because of it. Now the sets they are releasing are reminiscent of the old glory days and they are reaping the dividends. When I read the company report for the first half of this year I remember how they emphasizing how they performed beyond their wildest expectations. They know since they raised the quality of construction they are back in business and clearly on top. This is the key to their future and the future does look promising. The sets that have been seen so far have amazed everyone. City, the one Castle set so far, and especially Pirates all have that classic feel while at the same time they expand upon the theme, and bring new elements of the canon to light. If LEGO keeps doing what their currently doing, keeps plastic quality at the level it is now and keeps raising the quality of the themes and sets, they have a very bright future indeed. If anything the added competition will motivate them to keep raising quality just to distinguish themselves from the pack more than they already are.

See this is what happens when you write a seven page research paper, you grow longwinded about subjects and can't stop.

[CP5670]

The only slip in quality we've seen over the past fews years is when they switched the color palette, there was that initial dip in quality but since I don't think we've seen things get worse.

No, the color changes (grays, etc.) happened in 2004 while the color density issues started in early 2007 and are still ongoing. TLG themselves have admitted that there is a problem here and have supposedly been working to fix it, but it's hard to see why they would have any incentive to do so given that most people don't care about it.

There were also some unrelated problems with slopes, tires, stickers and window glass at various points over the last several years, although most of those were eventually fixed.

What LEGO needs to keep in mind through all this is that their strongest point is not the quality of the brick (which is still very important I don't want to take away from that), but the quality and variety of their sets.

This is certainly true. Lego will continue to sell better than the clone brands due to the excellent set designs they have these days. I think most consumers decide what to buy based on how good the sets are. For a typical casual buyer, brick quality is a non-issue and even the selection of parts doesn't matter so much if the set itself looks good.

[5150 Lego]

This is not good news. I think clone brands mainly profit from inattentive customers. They see a set with bricks and don't look if it's LEGO or not.... but there are certainly also customers who don't really care if it's LEGO or a clone brand. They just want the set to be cheap. At least here in Europe I have seldom seen clone brands (especially in my country).

Your absolutely right. So if you were in TLC's shoes, what would you do? Just sit back and hope people buy your product, or thrive to be better than the competion and maintain the quality that your known for as wellas realse new and interesting parts/sets/themes etc. my guess is the latter of the two. Your always going to have someone that won't care regardless of price, or quality. If the see somthing they like, the'll get it. wether or not its made by the leading brand or the clone brand.

I know it's legal to copy LEGO, but it's called common decency... Cashing in on what someone else invented.

Sorry dude, but its called Buisness. There's no such thing as "common decency" in buisness. Espeacally from your competion. Companies like lego constantly need to be on the top of thier game to stay competive in this day and age. And anyways, like somone has already pointed out, LEGO didn't even invent the brick. So i guess it wasn't to decent of them now was it?

Competition isn't always good. Sometimes it may mean lower prices, but then you get far poorer merchandise. Worse still, those making proper merchandise may go out of business. Ultimately cheaper prices don't just mean you get to buy more, it means companies have to run on tighter margins and pay workers less.

So no, I consider the "competition is good" line to be overly simplistic. I certainly would like to see competition in some areas of the market here in Ireland, but in other areas it is infeasible, and sensible regulation to keep a tight reign on monopolies or strong players is a far preferable ambition than pretending competition can be fostered.

While i see were your going with this, i don't believe that is always going to be the case. You don't have to lay off people or under pay them todecrease prices. Nor does quality have to suffer as well. this might make TLC take a strong hard look into there finaces though. Cutting these that don't sell well, investing in better equipment, better marketing etc. personally,i don't really feel that the quality is anything to complain about. Most complaints i read on here are preety silly for a childerns toy anyways.

I do feel that this could seriously open the posibilities of seeing new themes that most would never have thought Lego would do (IE-militay type). This will also make TLC think alittle harder before they build licensed themes. maybe think of the longrun insteadof the new hip movie thats going to come out.

[GC8Monkey]

This is a great topic and fully demonstrates the passion that I think we all have for the Lego brick.

I honestly don't think that TLG has anything to be worried about. I live in Canada, said home of Mega Blocks, and even at the Walmarts and Toys R Us's, Lego has the biggest presence. Aside from the obvious quality difference between the two brands, it is Lego's commitment to customer service that will always be their strength.

As long as they continue to make a high quality product and promote it as such they will continue to do well. That is not to say that TLG can sit idle. They will have to continue to connect with their customer and respond to their needs and wants.

This is something that Lego has done well in recent years and I believe will continue to do.

Cheers!

[Light Light]

Wow, this is shocking. I'm starting to vision a future where the shelves or various super stores and toy stores are packed with cheap, knock offs.

Its a Mega Blok invasion...