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Over the years, ownership of the LEGO Group has been handed down through the generations and is today in the hands of Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, grandson of Founder Ole Kirk Christiansen. And it is a proud owner who can now celebrate his company’s 75th birthday: “I feel an immense sense of pleasure and pride when I meet children and adults who enjoy our products. Throughout its 75-year history the LEGO Group has been through difficult and good times – fortunately much more good than difficult! This has been possible only because we have been blessed with – and still have – an incredibly committed team of employees. They have helped to keep alive the fundamental principles on which my grandfather set up the company. So I’m confident that we can look forward to the next 75 years,” says Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen. |
Although the LEGO Group has existed for many years, it still observes the same values that were laid down when the company started business. Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, LEGO CEO, says: “Our history means a lot to us. This is perhaps best reflected in our motto, which was also one of our founder’s favourite principles: ‘Only the best is good enough’. Quality, creativity and fun have always been our key values because they provide the strongest platform for children’s development and learning through play. And they are more in keeping with the times than ever. The LEGO brick and the LEGO system will continue in future to be the foundation on which we base our business because we offer children unique opportunities to grow and develop through play.”
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It began with wooden toys ...
In the early 1930s the world was in the grip of an economic depression. Ole Kirk Christiansen felt its effects in his carpentry business – there was less and less work for him as house building stagnated. He looked around for other ways of earning a living. One was to make wooden toys – the year was 1932, and his toy business had started. It turned out that parents still wanted to buy a little something for their children even when times were hard, and a couple of years later Ole Kirk Christiansen chose to concentrate entirely on toys. The company name emerged in 1934, when he held a competition among his employees. He won the competition himself with the name LEGO – an abbreviation of the Danish words “LEG GODT”, meaning Play Well.
Towards the end of 1946 Ole Kirk Christiansen bought his first plastic injection moulding machine and began experimenting with the new material. In 1950 his son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, became managing director of the company – and it was in 1958 under his leadership that the LEGO brick everyone knows today was developed and patented. When a fire destroyed the wooden product warehouse in 1960, the LEGO Group started to focus entirely on the product idea of the LEGO System. The system had proved its viability through a successful international expansion in a number of countries.
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In 1979 Godtfred’s son, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, became president and CEO. He raised LEGO play to a new level – by adding stories, themes and role play. Children were introduced to new LEGO worlds, known as play themes. The first of these was a journey out of this world with the LEGO Space series, which was launched in 1979. At the same time the company grew considerably through an acceleration of the international expansion and development of the LEGO brand.
At the beginning of the 21st century the LEGO brick was acclaimed “Toy of the Century” – first by Fortune Magazine and later by the British Association of Toy Retailers. After 25 years as President of the company, in 2004 Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen appointed Jørgen Vig Knudstorp as the current Chief Executive Officer. As owner and deputy chairman of the board of directors, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is still deeply involved in the company’s development. The LEGO Group has opted to celebrate its anniversary with its entire workforce throughout the world – and in Billund also with the community of more than 600 LEGO pensioners who still have links with the company. In characteristic style, it chooses to do so with a full programme of activities and fun. Next year it will be 50 years since the LEGO brick was patented, giving the company reason to celebrate another anniversary in 2008. Over the course of those 50 years it has sold no fewer than 400 billion LEGO elements. |
