Number of the Day
Lego’s Bet on Brick-and-Mortar Stores, by the Numbers
Online sales are up, but Lego’s CEO insists only real-life stores can deliver the brand experience
In the wake of a pandemic that has only underscored the rise of digital retail, and that has shrouded shopping in the physical world with a vague sense of risk, opening 120 new stores sounds like an aggressively optimistic strategy, if not an outright peculiar one. But Lego CEO Niels Christiansen insists that only real-life stores (Lego already has 612 globally) can deliver the necessary “brand experience,” like seeing spectacular Lego builds up close and looking over the latest kits. “When our stores have reopened after lockdown, there have been queues,” he told BBC.
Lego’s online sales have been up, too. The company says it has been attracting more adult customers in the pandemic era and recently reported an overall sales rise of 14%. Still, the re-upped commitment to in-person shopping can be read as a vote of confidence that the “experiential retail” ideas so trendy before the arrival of Covid-19 may have a future, after all. Notably, 80 of Lego’s new store openings are planned in China, where a version of “normal” that includes going out and shopping has already settled in. Maybe brick-and-mortar businesses still have a future — beyond just Lego bricks, that is.
Looks like Lego is putting the pieces together.
