Toys Get Sex Change, LEGO Profits Rise 38 Percent
Toy maker Lego announced that it profits have soared after the company focused on developing some of its new toy products for girls.
On Thursday, the Denmark-based company revealed in its annual earnings report that the privately held company saw its profits grow 38 percent to over 1 billion in the past year alone. They are optimistic the increased growth will continue.
The company manufactures hundreds of various products, but the Lego Star Wars and Lego Ninja Go series were among the top sellers until recently when the company released Lego Friends. This product line was geared towards young girls, and did far better than the company had projected, given that orders outpaced the actual supply.
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The new line, which includes mini-figures in pink, a dream house with a pool and a beauty shop, had been seen as promoting the continued acceptance of gender roles in society by some domestic consumer groups.
While there have been calls for an equitable market for children's toys, 90 percent of Lego sales have been from the male demographic, according to Market Watch. Yet, many of those companies feel that they can engage an untapped market share in the female demographic as they look to increase sales.
As proof of the increasing toy market, Lego stated that its share of the American toy market has quadrupled in the last five years and was up more than 1.6 percent from the previous year.
While toy markets in North America were solid, toy manufacturers were encouraged to find that both Asia and Europe showed increasing sales, a Lego statement detailed. It did caution, though, that while growth is forecasted to continue to climb, it will come at a slower pace than in recent years due to uncertain global economic conditions.
The company has been a staple in the toy industry for decades and currently sells products in more than 130 countries.
