LEGO Company Announces Strong 2001 Performance in North America.Business Editors ENFIELD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 2002 -Growth led by BIONICLE BIONICLE Biological Chronicle (Lego) (TM), Harry Potter(TM) and classic theme novelties is part of larger strategy to double Americas business by 2005- The LEGO Company announces it has increased its sales to North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. consumers by 14% over 2000. North America contributed significantly to the Company's global result before tax of approximately $66 million (DKK DKK In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Danish Krone. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 530 million). Results account for all aspects of the Company's business, including toys, direct-to-consumer sales, LEGO(R) Brand Retail stores and LEGOLAND(R) Parks. LEGO Americas president, Andrew Black, has an ambitious goal for the Americas over the next three years. "We have identified a clear path to grow the business in the U.S. and Canada. Our goal is to double the business by 2005, and we plan to achieve this by launching innovative new products and marketing, like we did with BIONICLE last year, and by establishing presence in new areas like action figures and preschool," Black says. Leading the strong growth in 2001 was the introduction of BIONICLE(TM), combining construction with collectibility and strong storytelling in an action figure form. LEGO Harry Potter(TM) quickly became the Company's strongest new product launch ever, while LEGO Bob the Builder <noinclude></noinclude> <noinclude></noinclude> Bob the Builder is a children's television character created by Keith Chapman. Bob appears as a construction contractor in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours (TM) became the best-selling LEGO Preschool line in Americas history. LEGO Life on Mars Scientists have long speculated about the possibility of life on Mars owing to the planet's proximity and similarity to Earth. It remains an open question whether life exists on Mars now, or existed there in the past. exceeded expectations, and the LEGO Soccer Championship Challenge remained the number-one LEGO item in the Americas, even in its second holiday season. "We're extremely proud of the growth we achieved in 2001," says Black. "Innovative products and marketing helped us surpass our goal. We're confident we have the momentum we need to significantly grow our business in the Americas and at the same time build one of the leading and most creative brands for families with children." The Company's 2001 result is significant in a year when the overall American toy market was relatively flat, growing by only 1.7%. LEGO Americas also received three Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards from the Toy Industry Association The Toy Industry Association, Inc. (TIA) is the not-for-profit trade association for producers and importers of toys and youth entertainment products sold in North America, representing over 500 companies who account for approximately 85% of domestic toy sales. , a testament to the strength of the 2001 lines. BIONICLE received two TOTYs, one for "Most Innovative Toy" and another for "Best Boy Toy." The LEGO Harry Potter(TM) Hogwarts(TM) Castle received a TOTY for "Best Activity Toy." Black anticipates that LEGO Americas again will exceed expectations as the division continues to roll out the aggressive growth strategy in 2002. The Company will launch innovative new LEGO products including additions to the BIONICLE universe, a complete discovery system for preschoolers called LEGO EXPLORE(TM) and a line of new LEGO Soccer products, accompanied by a partnership with the U.S. Men's National Team. Hot licensed properties also will drive growth, including new products in the STAR WARS(TM) line to coincide with the May launch of Episode II, 11 new LEGO Harry Potter(TM) sets and the Company's foray into the action figure aisle with the introduction of the GALIDOR(TM) organic building system based on the Fox Kids and YTV YTV Pääkaupunkiseudun Yhteistyövaltuuskunta (Finnish: Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council) YTV Yorkshire Television YTV Youth Television series, GALIDOR: Defenders of the Outer Dimension. LEGO Systems, Inc. (LSI LSI: see integrated circuit. (Large Scale Integration) Between 3,000 and 100,000 transistors on a chip. See SSI, MSI, VLSI and ULSI. ) is the Americas (North America and Latin America) division of the LEGO Company, a privately-held firm based in Billund, Denmark. The LEGO Company employs nearly 1,200 people in the Americas - approximately three-quarters of whom work at LSI's 203-acre headquarters in Enfield, Connecticut. The LEGO Company is committed to the development of children's creative and imaginative abilities, and its employees are guided by the motto adopted in the 1930s by founder Ole Kirk Christiansen Ole Kirk Christiansen (April 7, 1891–March 11, 1958) was a Danish master carpenter and toymaker, responsible for both founding the Lego Group and inventing the world-famous Lego bricks. He had a son, who headed LEGO after him: Godfred Kirk Christiansen. : "Only the best is good enough." For more information, visit www.LEGO.com. LEGO and the LEGO logo are trademarks of The LEGO Group. GALIDOR is a trademark.(c) 2002 CineGroupe and The LEGO Group. HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related indicia Signs; indications. Circumstances that point to the existence of a given fact as probable, but not certain. For example, indicia of partnership are any circumstances which would induce the belief that a given person was in reality, though not technically, a member of a given are trademarks of and(c)Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . 2002. (c)2002 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. (c) HIT Entertainment PLC and Keith Chapman 2002. |
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