leafan Posted March 5, 2020 With the 2019 Annual Report being released yesterday, it also signaled a change in Chairman for The Lego Group. Thomas Kirk Kristiansen has been promoted from his position of Deputy Chairman to Chairman of the Board of Directors, taking over from his father, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen; marking the 4th generation of Kirk Kristiansen's to take the reins. Could this see a new direction for TLG? Or will Thomas just follow the course? What do you think? Does anybody have any anecdotal information about this guy's personality or what it's like to work with him? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mylenium Posted March 5, 2020 I don't think it will change anything. This is the old thing of "traditional family companies" where the successors are vetted and nurtured to inherit their parents' empires from early childhood. Unless some of them are rebellious and really don't want to be pressed into that mold, not much ever really changes. that and of course once a company grows beyond a certain size the day-to-day operations are handled at a different management level, anyway. currently there is no reason to change much as long as LEGO's expansion in the Asian markets goes reasonably well and their traditional markets don't break down completely, so I don't expect anything revolutionary to happen... Mylenium Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lego David Posted March 5, 2020 What exactly is this Chairman position? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Masked Mini Posted March 5, 2020 I can't speak for TLG specifically but usually with corporations this large the "A" suite and especially the CEO or Chairman provide the vision and cultural guidance to the lower suites to implement changes. I'd expect a straight continuity between the two. That photo was carefully staged to project that, down to wearing the same shade of blue shirt. The only difference being their age. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Medzomorak Posted March 5, 2020 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Lego David said: What exactly is this Chairman position? The Board of Directors represent the share and stakeholders. They appoint the CEO and other exectutive personel. Think of them as supervisors of the appointed leaders of the company. So I think no, until nothing bad happens and they're making growth they won't give any orders for new drastical directions. Edited March 5, 2020 by Medzomorak Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Masked Mini Posted March 5, 2020 It appears to be a more ceremonial role at this time. Jorgen looks to still be the one actually pulling the strings. That's a good thing in my opinion as he's the man who pulled it around as CEO 2001-2017. From Wikipedia:Jørgen Vig Knudstorp (executive chairman)[1] Niels B. Christiansen (CEO)[2] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MAB Posted March 5, 2020 Nothing new. This is partly so they can say it is a family run company and blah blah blah ... I wonder if the use of DUPLO was meant to send any subliminal messages. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_spock Posted March 5, 2020 Duplo bricks may fill the shot better in the field of view used than system bricks? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pdaitabird Posted March 5, 2020 Just now, dr_spock said: Duplo bricks may fill the shot better in the field of view used than system bricks? Plot twist: those are just two extremely small men holding regular system bricks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leafan Posted March 5, 2020 2 hours ago, Pdaitabird said: Plot twist: those are just two extremely small men holding regular system bricks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Dee Posted March 5, 2020 (edited) Dude. The dad has 2 normal arms and a spare hand coming out of his shirt collar! That's awesome. Edited March 5, 2020 by Captain Dee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leafan Posted March 5, 2020 33 minutes ago, Captain Dee said: Dude. The dad has 2 normal arms and a spare hand coming out of his shirt collar! That's awesome. Damn it I knew Lego was run by mutants from Alpha Centauri. This is why we can't have an in-house space theme isn't it!?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deraven Posted March 6, 2020 I don't think this will signal any bigger changes, as other's have already said, and this has been a few years coming. Honestly, I thought this had already happened. I would be more concerned if Jørgen Vig Knudstorp was moved out of the loop at all, but with him still there helping to oversee and steer, I think they have a good combination of folks to keep things on the right track while still innovating and improving. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toastie Posted March 6, 2020 The message is quite clear here, isn't it? "We will seriously ramp-up DUPLO - including a DUPLO Classic In-House Space, Castle, and Pirates Theme in the colors shown on the photograph" "And we are seriously entertaining the idea of letting Maersk taking over". That shirt color is damned close to Maersk Blue, isn't it? (Says the one who can't tell dark green from bluish whatever) Best regards and have a nice weekend! Thorsten Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MatthewRC Posted March 6, 2020 Hopefully this means LEGO may improve their marketing strategy as a result of this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Medzomorak Posted March 6, 2020 2 hours ago, MatthewRC said: Hopefully this means LEGO may improve their marketing strategy as a result of this. Thats't a bit vague, what are you thinking of exactly? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MAB Posted March 6, 2020 19 minutes ago, Medzomorak said: Thats't a bit vague, what are you thinking of exactly? Making stuff that we want :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MatthewRC Posted March 6, 2020 7 hours ago, Medzomorak said: Thats't a bit vague, what are you thinking of exactly? 6 hours ago, MAB said: Making stuff that we want :-) Well, sort of. I was referring to how LEGO sold Bionicle G1 sets successfully for example. I hope they can make their marketing strategy great again! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toastie Posted March 6, 2020 Just now, MatthewRC said: I hope they can make their marketing strategy great again! Well. After/during all these IP battles with knock-offs, their utter failure with e.g. theme parks, along with "naturally" occurring things (once a patent is coming to an end - which may be regarded in a world of competition and imagination as reasonable and good), it appears as if TLG is having a strategy that retains the greatness of the company, don't they? For more than decades now? Dips here and there and growing not anymore as some bubbles suggested - they are making money within a shark's tank. Some here praised the success of Playmobil and Schleich with themes that are also resembling "Classic themes" for LEGO - Castle: In House Space, and Pirates - but in the end, TLG has to secure 5 to 20+ times more of revenue - plus a stakeholder friendly growth rate - to survive in its incarnation that it is and has been. In a form that many of us love. So what could they do to make them even greater as they currently are? Space, Castle, and Pirates? That would make the difference? I sure hope that when they attempt to capitalize on that, that we have the fan base to turn this effort into global growth of the company. Because this is the world we are living in. Some will ask. I also heard some here who said: They could do it - it may cost them a bit - but they are billionaires. Welcome in the year 2020. The entire world rides on the waves of "making more". Not on having fun. When you want to have fun, have it on your own. But don't count on a company of that size. They have to ride the waves. And when we - the AFOLs - recognize a dip, or even a recess, we tend to go completely nuts and tell them to make it great again - with the stuff that worked - decades ago. When we were young. It seems to be a very natural thing - to me at least. "It's been such a long time, I think I should be goin', yeah And time doesn't wait for me, it keeps on rollin' Sail on, on a distant highway I've got to keep on chasin' a dream, yeah I've gotta be on my way Wish there was something I could say". Boston - one of my favorite songs when it comes to "What do we do now" ... All the best Thorsten Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MAB Posted March 7, 2020 The late 70s / early 80s was the best time for music. All these new singers and pop groups should go back to doing what those bands did and make music great again ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aanchir Posted March 9, 2020 On 3/6/2020 at 6:07 PM, MatthewRC said: Well, sort of. I was referring to how LEGO sold Bionicle G1 sets successfully for example. I feel like in most key respects, the marketing strategy LEGO uses for Ninjago is not really unlike the one they used for Bionicle G1, just modernized to focus on different sorts of media. After all, licensed online games, downloadable screen savers, CD-ROMs, comic books, and pro skateboarder endorsements are no longer anywhere near as popular among kids as they were in the early 2000s. Instead, stuff like YouTube videos, mobile apps, and TV and digital streaming services have displaced that earlier stuff as the most reliable ways for marketers to reach kids. I am as nostalgic as anyone for stuff like the Mata Nui Online Game, but you have to keep in mind that it came out at a time when basically EVERY website aimed at kids had "downloads" and "games" and "videos" sections, and when kids came to expect websites to have that type of stuff. Nowadays, that's not the case. Kids looking for free video games to play aren't as likely to start by typing in the web address of a favorite toy brand — they're going to go to the App Store or whatever the equivalent on their devices happens to be. Likewise, kids looking for videos to watch typically head straight to YouTube or Twitch or some other dedicated video hosting app/website. All in all, even if kids continue to love LEGO as much as ever, that doesn't mean that they're always arriving at and pursuing that love of LEGO by following the same pathways as previous generations of LEGO fans. Bionicle certainly wouldn't have risen to such success in the early 2000s if LEGO had marketed it with the same approaches they'd used in the early 80s. And chances are that today's top ways of advertising to kids won't be as effective 20 years from now, either! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Brick Boss Posted March 9, 2020 @Aanchir is back! What's up? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leafan Posted March 9, 2020 On 3/7/2020 at 5:30 AM, MAB said: The late 70s / early 80s was the best time for music. All these new singers and pop groups should go back to doing what those bands did and make music great again ! Damn straight Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aanchir Posted March 13, 2020 On 3/8/2020 at 9:58 PM, Brandon Pea said: @Aanchir is back! What's up? I was just chiming in cuz I checked in and saw a post about classic Bionicle marketing, and wanted to share my perspective as somebody else who grew up back then but has seen how a lot of stuff's been shifting across the web (not just LEGO.com). Not gonna lie, I struggle to adapt to it myself sometimes. But please don't get the wrong idea — I haven't been checking back here all that regularly, and have been way too busy with non-LEGO-related stuff to feel comfortable getting back in that habit. The sort of posts I'm so prone to making take a long time and I often end up posting them only to realize it hasn't felt worth all the time, effort, and emotional energy I put into them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Brick Boss Posted March 13, 2020 @Aanchir Well good thing you stopped by. We're glad to see you. Did you know Airport is coming back for City? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
