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Record Lego sales as people look for lockdown distractions

Lego's CEO said its 2020 results 'show the timeless relevance of the Lego brick and learning through play.' Photo: Getty Images
Lego's CEO said its 2020 results 'show the timeless relevance of the Lego brick and learning through play.' Photo: Getty Images (ilbusca via Getty Images)

As people were forced to spend more time at home, it seems many reached out to Lego toys to keep themselves entertained as the company posted record 2020 sales.

It managed to grow its revenue by 13% year-on-year to DKK43.7 bn (£5bn, $7bn) while consumer sales grew 21%. Sales were up 13% to DKK43.7bn, which according to Bloomberg is the most the company has ever brought in during a single year.

Operating profit was DKK12.9bn, an increase of 19% compared with 2019. Net profit also grew 19%, to DKK 9.9bn.

Consumer sales in all market groups grew double digits, with especially strong growth in China, the Americas, Western Europe and Asia Pacific.

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CEO Niels B Christiansen said: “We are very pleased with these results. They show the timeless relevance of the Lego brick and learning through play."

He added that for the past two years the company has made "large-scale investments in initiatives designed to support long-term growth. In 2020, we began to see the benefits of these, especially in e-commerce and product innovation."

"We will further increase investments during the coming year with a continued focus on innovating play, our brand, digitalisation and developing an omnichannel retail network," he said.

READ MORE: Lego replacing plastic packaging from 2021 amid £310m sustainable drive

The company said strong sales in 2020 were driven by more people of all ages building with Lego bricks. Lego City, Lego Classic and Lego Star Wars were some of the most popular categories.

WATCH: Lego to sell kit inspired by Vincent van Gogh painting

Lego Super Mario, released in August 2020, became one of the company’s most successful theme launches.

“Investments in products that seamlessly blend physical and digital play will continue in 2021 with this month’s release of Lego Vidiyo which taps into children’s love of music and play,” the company said.

The number of visits to Lego's online store doubled compared with the prior year, while the company continued its global store expansion programme.

During 2020, it opened 134 new retail stores, including 91 stores in China. This brings the total number of Lego branded stores globally at the end of 2020 to 678. The company plans to open a further 120 stores in 2021, 80 of those in China.

In 2021, the group wants to up its investment in digitalisation across the entire business and plans to expand its digital and technology teams.