LEGO

Lego is a shortening of the Danish expression "leg godt", which means "play well". The company was founded in the 1930's by Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund who started off by making wooden toys. The family still own the business 100% and are reckoned to be one of the richest in Denmark.

Lego's great breakthrough came in 1949, when they began making the interlocking rectangular plastic bricks that have become famous the world over. Since then, billions if not trillions of the things have been churned out, giving joy to millions if not billions of humans. I was a Lego fan as a boy; and both my sons were when I became a dad, so I went round the course twice. I suspect that I will do it a third time if I get to have grandchildren.

The company had a wobble in the mid-noughties, when it tried to move away from its traditional product. Since then, however, it has been a roaring success. Its 2011 results published yesterday showed sales up 17% to kr.18.7 billion, despite flat or negative toy markets in most of the countries where it operates; and after-tax profits of more than kr.4 billion. Its share of the worldwide toy market is estimated to be about 7%.  

Furthermore, this stunning growth is likely to continue in the next decade. Lego may be ubiquitous in Europe and the U.S., but it is relatively unknown in Asia, which has fast-growing economies and lots of children. Expect this Danish success story to keep going for some time.

Walter Blotscher