leafan

TLG acquires Bricklink

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EDITED to include the actual press release and official links. Thanks to @Jim and @Digger of Bricks for those.

Here are BrickLink's and TLG's official statements on the acquisition...

 

"BILLUND, Denmark, November 26, 2019:  The LEGO® Group today announced it has acquired BrickLink Ltd (www.bricklink.com), the world’s largest online community of adult LEGO fans from NXMH to strengthen its connection with its important adult fan base.

The BrickLink platform has more than one million members and comprises an online marketplace of more than 10,000 stores from 70 countries; a digital building software where builders can design and showcase their creations; and a vibrant online community where fans share ideas and builds.

The platform was founded in 2000 by Dan Jezek as a way to connect like-minded adult LEGO fans from around the world.  It was acquired in 2013 by NXMH, which is owned by Korean entrepreneur Jung-Ju “Jay” Kim. BrickLink is headquartered in Irvine, California. 

The LEGO Group CEO, Niels B Christiansen said: “Our adult fans are extremely important to us.  They are passionate, committed and endlessly creative.  We have worked closely with the community for many years and look forward to deepening our collaboration.  We plan to continue to support BrickLink’s active marketplace and evolve the digital studio which allows our talented fans to take their creativity to the next level.” 

Jung-Ju “Jay” Kim, owner of NXMH, said: “It has been a privilege to lead the transformation of BrickLink during the past six years.   I am grateful to the community for being so welcoming, supportive and constructive.  I am constantly amazed by everyone’s endless creativity and their love for building.  I am confident the platform will be in good hands with the LEGO Group. As a fan myself, I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

The LEGO Group’s Chief Marketing Officer, Julia Goldin, said:  “BrickLink provides the LEGO Group with a unique opportunity to connect with adult fans through new channels and exciting experiences.  We’ve recently collaborated with BrickLink on a range of crowd-sourced sets to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the brick.  We learned a lot and are keen to explore more ways of working together to create value.  We look forward to collaborating further with our adult fans, while retaining and nurturing the independent spirit of the digital platform.”

The acquisition also includes Sohobricks which makes small batches of building elements.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Closing is expected to occur before the end of 2019. 

 

About the LEGO Group:  

The LEGO Group’s mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through the power of play. The LEGO System in Play, with its foundation in LEGO® bricks, allows children and fans to build and rebuild anything they can imagine.  The LEGO Group was founded in Billund, Denmark in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, its name derived from the two Danish words LEg GOdt, which mean “Play Well”.  Today, the LEGO Group remains a family-owned company headquartered in Billund. However, its products are now sold in more than 140 countries worldwide. For more information: www.LEGO.com.

About BrickLink

BrickLink is an online marketplace for LEGO® products and represents a vibrant adult fan community. The website was founded in April 2000 and currently has more than 1 million members. For more information: www.bricklink.com and @bricklink on IG and Twitter."

 

Not sure how I feel about this. :S

 

Edited by leafan

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BILLUND, Denmark, November 26, 2019:  The LEGO® Group today announced it has acquired BrickLink Ltd (www.bricklink.com), the world’s largest online community of adult LEGO fans from NXMH to strengthen its connection with its important adult fan base.

The BrickLink platform has more than one million members and comprises an online marketplace of more than 10,000 stores from 70 countries; a digital building software where builders can design and showcase their creations; and a vibrant online community where fans share ideas and builds.

The platform was founded in 2000 by Dan Jezek as a way to connect like-minded adult LEGO fans from around the world.  It was acquired in 2013 by NXMH, which is owned by Korean entrepreneur Jung-Ju “Jay” Kim. BrickLink is headquartered in Irvine, California. 

The LEGO Group CEO, Niels B Christiansen said: “Our adult fans are extremely important to us.  They are passionate, committed and endlessly creative.  We have worked closely with the community for many years and look forward to deepening our collaboration.  We plan to continue to support BrickLink’s active marketplace and evolve the digital studio which allows our talented fans to take their creativity to the next level.”

Jung-Ju “Jay” Kim, owner of NXMH, said: “It has been a privilege to lead the transformation of BrickLink during the past six years.   I am grateful to the community for being so welcoming, supportive and constructive.  I am constantly amazed by everyone’s endless creativity and their love for building.  I am confident the platform will be in good hands with the LEGO Group. As a fan myself, I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

The LEGO Group’s Chief Marketing Officer, Julia Goldin, said:  “BrickLink provides the LEGO Group with a unique opportunity to connect with adult fans through new channels and exciting experiences.  We’ve recently collaborated with BrickLink on a range of crowd-sourced sets to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the brick.  We learned a lot and are keen to explore more ways of working together to create value.  We look forward to collaborating further with our adult fans, while retaining and nurturing the independent spirit of the digital platform.”

The acquisition also includes Sohobricks which makes small batches of building elements.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Closing is expected to occur before the end of 2019. 

 

About the LEGO Group:  

The LEGO Group’s mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through the power of play. The LEGO System in Play, with its foundation in LEGO® bricks, allows children and fans to build and rebuild anything they can imagine.  The LEGO Group was founded in Billund, Denmark in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, its name derived from the two Danish words LEg GOdt, which mean “Play Well”.  Today, the LEGO Group remains a family-owned company headquartered in Billund. However, its products are now sold in more than 140 countries worldwide. For more information: www.LEGO.com.

About BrickLink

BrickLink is an online marketplace for LEGO® products and represents a vibrant adult fan community. The website was founded in April 2000 and currently has more than 1 million members. For more information: www.bricklink.com and @bricklink on IG and Twitter.

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Maybe Lego will start directly selling individual and bulk lego elements in a much broader range than it has been and in an easier to use format to anyone willing to buy them.  That would be nice.  They could also make a hell of a lot more profit and cut out all those little guys making the money

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This is quite a shocking move. I really wonder what will hold BL future and the independence of their marketplace and community. 

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I am very skeptical about it too. Corporate interference usually means bad news. But maybe TLG will surprise us.

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We know what actions LEGO took on AFOLs recently (youtube channels, 3D printing community). Polished words, and power... I think, I am more worried, than excited about this news.

Will see, I am pushing my fingers for all the friends on BL and for Stud.io - which is getting the most advanced CAD program on the field. We definitely need Bricklink and a good software for keeping the MOCs alive.

Edited by agrof

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I wish this was an April Fools joke. I'm very worried for the future of Bricklink. I know if it crashes and burns another will rise in its place, but that could take a few years.

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I hope that BL can continue to operate the marketplace independently with support from the parent company. I am curious what this will bring to the both buyer and sellers. 

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I think that the updated Terms & Conditions will be an interesting read.

Things to think about:

  • They now have access to any personal details and communications that you've entered into Bricklink.
  • Do they technically own any moc designs created in their studio?

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Not good is my stance on this.  LEGO has some many rules already around AFOL programs, and now this.

What is somewhat confusing is that LEGO doesn't own the bricks, just the platform, so there is nothing stopping another market place from popping up UNLESS Bricklink owns some intellectual property they can use to stop a new marketplace from springing up.

No way LEGO allows their brand to now be represented by thousands of new people they can't control. 

Overall, I think this will be detrimental to most sellers and buyers.  Perhaps there is something else cool in this, like a more expansive IDEAs like platform- but I doubt it.  The MOC shop is in trouble, and I see new rules coming down on individual lot restrictions and loads of other things soon too.

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Wow. Just wow. I'm optimistic this will bode well for LDD/Stud.io/digital programs, but I'm really worried for resellers. I mean, that's the whole point of BL, they can't get rid of that? MOCs and instructions selling might go away. This is really interesting.

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Guess I better stop procrastinating and start buying the parts for the digital MOCs in my backlog.  I would have welcomed more partnerships between TLG and Bricklink along the lines of the AFOL Designer Program, but not this.  This is just monopoly power intruding on an independent marketplace.

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12 minutes ago, ZCerberus said:

.... stopping another market place from popping up UNLESS Bricklink owns some intellectual property they can use to stop a new marketplace from springing up.

 

if that was the case I would think they'd have taken some kind of action against BrickOwl- though I wouldn't put it past LEGO to try to stop something like that.

 

Very strange news indeed. I have never really paid much mind to the MOC shop due to prices and lack of interest, but i can imagine there will be a crackdown on that to avoid collision with IDEAS. The actual brick marketplace I imagine would stay intact, my hope is they would add more new-from-factory elements and sell directly through Bricklink instead of bricks and pieces. Only time will tell, this was not the headline I was expecting today that's for sure

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This is terrible news.

Nothing good can come of a monopoly on brick sources. I can see clamp downs on custom parts, printing/chroming and possibly resale of parts that are not "supposed" to be on the market (however people get hold of them to sell on, TLG would not like Q parts and test pieces being sold on).

Then you come to the next issue: People have been banned from using the LEGO Shop.com and while it may be internet hearsay and finger pointing; the banning of purchases from S@H has been linked to those who print custom designs and also re-sellers. AKA- People who buy a torso or leg elements in big batches have been prevented from buying from B&P or S@H (possibly, like I said, internet rumour) and now if Bricklink is shut off from them then the community suffers.

Time to check my wanted lists and maybe buy a little before any crazy corporate changes are forced in.

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Please tell me this is a joke.

26 minutes ago, Robert8 said:

:oh:

Oh boy... why?

Im not sure I like this. 

I'm pretty sure I don't like it -- unless they pretty much leave well enough alone, and set up their own shop, too.  I can only imagine sweeping changes, restrictions, fees. "We own it. We made the parts. We make the rules now. Sorry, you can't do that anymore."

I hope they prove me thoroughly wrong, but it just looks like a convenient way for them to control a major market that was always supposed to be beyond their control... :sick:

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While discussing with my peers regarding this, I realised not many people are aware that this business model has already been practiced by other companies. On one hand TLG rely on supplier network to produce or make their products. On the opposite end, they can make a 3rd-party customer network to consume or buy those products. This is model is known as C2C or customer to customer.

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I'm sceptical. How could TLGs interests, for example to increase marketshare and to make profit, influence the market at BrickLink?

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I feel a great disturbance in the force. That will probably mean more restrictions for sellers and might make many of them close their shops. Especially small shops. Horrible news for all moc builders. Maybe I am a bit pessimistic. So let's hope for the best and expect the worst.

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Wow, that is heavy news! Even if I never bought a single part via Bricklink. I can simply not immagine that this can have a great outcome in the future. Of course there would be a lot of great new opportunities that I could imagine out of this new ownership. Buuuut I can also think about far too many not so nice things happening which would not make it worth it.

But also, I mean I can totally understand why they see the need to get better connection with Afols.

Right now there is a bigger and bigger growing pool of other, mostly Asian, Lego-like manufacturers. And what they do is simple but effective: They produce the stuff that Afols want. Sets that have 6.000+ or whatever pieces and look like Mocs. They are often beautiful, even tho the quality seems to be rather not so up to Lego standards. 

Buuut people buy them because they love the looks of these and because they are often the stuff that Lego does not produce. And even tho a lot of these are stolen designs and shit quality. People rather buy 10 of these then 1 Legoset. Because the prices allow to do so. 

Sooo to keep up with the wishes of more and more Afols that love beautiful Sets rather then stuff like a Hoth UCS or whatever, they see the need to get into the core of the Afol community and with Bricklink they probably see a way of making it possible to even sell Afols Mocs without loosing out on profits and competing with the Asian Manufacturers.

Still I see a lot of downsides (some of them allready posted by other people above) and I now can only hope, that somehow non of these will become reality...

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