Some children may not get the gifts they expect this Christmas because while Lego plants are working at full speed, they may not be able to make enough plastic blocks to keep up with the demand in Europe’s toy stores.
The Danish firm has become the world’s largest toymaker by sales, surpassing US-based Mattel, thanks in part to movie-related products like “The Lego Movie.”
But problems accurately forecasting demand could mean some orders don’t arrive on time.
“It’s really extraordinary and it has exceeded both our and our customers’ forecasts,” company spokesman Roar Trangbaek told Reuters, asked why the company did not anticipate the increase in demand.
“We will not be able to deliver all the orders that customers make in the remainder of the year,” Trangbaek acknowledged, although he clarified that Lego will be able to fulfill the orders already received. The company is building a factory in Jiaxing, about 100 kilometers from Shanghai, which is expected to be operational in 2017 and would produce most of the toys for Asia.
Lego already owns factories in Denmark, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Mexico. The Danish firm’s sales grew 18% in the first half of this year to 14 billion Danish crowns ($2.1 billion), surpassing both Mattel and Hasbro, whose revenue was $1.9 billion. and 1.5 billion dollars, respectively.
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