A high govt at LEGO Group has instructed China.org.cn that the toy firm will launch extra units with parts involving Chinese language tradition and traditions, with the corporate expressing nice confidence and expectation out there’s potential.
This yr, LEGO Group marks its ninetieth anniversary and attends the fifth China Worldwide Import Expo (CIIE) with a 396-square-meter LEGO Playground, the largest-ever LEGO sales space at CIIE. The sales space showcases the newest LEGO toys and academic merchandise, celebrating the significance of play. The LEGO Playground even features a beautiful carousel product of 78,752 bricks constructed by 10 LEGO grasp mannequin builders, taking them 366 hours to assemble in whole.
As a five-year exhibitor at CIIE, the corporate has additionally launched its largest line-up of novelties impressed by Chinese language tradition, together with 5 new LEGO units representing parts from Lunar New Yr celebrations and a parade, Monkey King, and a cash tree. This represents the fifth consecutive yr that the corporate has debuted novelties with wealthy Chinese language parts on the expo. All 5 units can be accessible in China and different markets from Dec. 25.
“The report back to the twentieth Nationwide Congress of the Communist Celebration of China (CPC) talked about selling high-standard opening up, which galvanized me,” mentioned Paul Huang, senior vp of the LEGO Group and common supervisor of LEGO China. “This demonstrates China’s willpower to speed up the constructing of a brand new growth sample and attempt to advertise high-quality growth. This strengthens our confidence and expectation in China, a market stuffed with resilience, vitality, and potential.”
Huang additionally famous that the high-quality growth of China’s society and financial system had offered extra alternatives for international enterprises to develop their companies within the nation. China’s previous achievements in deepening opening-up and repeatedly optimizing its enterprise surroundings have made them assured within the prospects of the Chinese language market.
“Lately, we’ve repeatedly elevated our investments within the Chinese language market and achieved robust double-digit development, making nice progress in constructing the model, increasing our retail presence, innovating our portfolio, driving sustainability progress, growing manufacturing capability, and digitalizing globally and in China,” Huang mentioned. “For instance, our retail footprint has expanded to greater than 100 cities within the Chinese language mainland. In 2018, the quantity was simply 18. This displays the more and more optimized enterprise surroundings in China, which makes us extra decided to put money into the Chinese language market, from first-tier cities to extra fourth- and fifth-tier cities, persevering with our strategic initiatives to convey LEGO Play to much more Chinese language youngsters and their households.”
“We imagine that LEGO Group remains to be younger within the Chinese language market and has a whole lot of room for development and growth,” Huang added.
The corporate has opened over 380 LEGO model retail shops in 105 cities throughout China, in contrast with 60 shops in 18 cities in 2018. It additionally introduced expansions of its manufacturing capability in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, in January 2022 to help long-term development within the area. Subsequent yr, in accordance with the chief, LEGO Group will open 80 new model retail shops. In the meantime, they can even give attention to digital platforms to open two completely different themed on-line flagship shops subsequent month on Douyin after launching their first e-commerce retailer on Alibaba’s Tmall.
By way of sustainable growth, LEGO additionally introduced toy bricks made out of recycled PET plastic bottles to the CIIE – their first public debut of prototype constructing blocks in China. This displays their achievements in working towards utilizing sustainable supplies to supply LEGO merchandise.
“CIIE is a superb place for manufacturers and enterprises everywhere in the world to introduce their new merchandise, applied sciences, and experiences to Chinese language customers, and it additionally gives alternatives for multinational corporations to speak with native companions and governments,” Huang described. “Prior to now 5 years, we actively explored the market alternatives on the expo platform whereas debuting 20 new units of merchandise, 16 amongst which have been with Chinese language cultural parts. By means of CIIE’s affect, extra Chinese language customers learn about our progressive merchandise and play experiences. It is a nice promotion for our enterprise. So, with COVID-19 persevering with its impacts on the globe, the truth that CIIE is held as scheduled has despatched a reassuring message to foreign-invested enterprises, together with us.”
The corporate additionally introduced a brand new strategic partnership with China Growth Analysis Basis at CIIE to roll out a “Prescription for Play” program. This system goals to help the event of parental and caregiver behaviors towards studying by play within the dwelling. For instance, by distributing play supplies at native healthcare facilities and offering caregivers with one-on-one steerage and directions on parent-child play, it’s anticipated that 250,000 youngsters aged 18 to 48 months will profit from this system in 2023.
“We imagine in a single easy mission: inspiring and growing the builders of tomorrow. We imagine that play is essential to the wellbeing and happiness of the entire household in a quickly altering world,” Huang careworn.
The LEGO Play Nicely Research 2022 confirmed that there’s an growing affinity towards studying by play amongst Chinese language dad and mom and kids, with 93% of fogeys in Chinese language mainland seeing play as key in serving to children study new issues. In the meantime, 96% of kids mentioned play helps them strive new concepts and do new issues. Analysis has additionally discovered that play’s advantages prolong past youngsters to the entire household, with 95% of Chinese language dad and mom saying play builds robust household bonds. All findings from the report have been gathered from a complete of 32,781 dad and mom and 24,593 youngsters aged 5-12 by a 20-minute on-line quantitative survey carried out throughout 35 markets in early 2022. A complete of 1,004 dad and mom and 770 youngsters from the Chinese language mainland participated within the survey.
