| |||||
For the LEGO Group, 2008 was a successful year with considerable increases in both sales and profit. This was announced when the LEGO Group presented its Annual Report 2008 at a press conference today in Billund, Denmark. ![]()
Global sales increases Nearly all the LEGO Group’s markets reached two-digit growth rates in 2008. Especially the English-speaking markets saw extraordinarily high sales increases, which resulted in considerable increases of the LEGO Group’s shares of these markets. In Central Europe, the LEGO products increased their market leadership through continued growth, and in Northern and Eastern Europe, the strong position of the LEGO products was further strengthened during 2008.
The global market for traditional toys saw a slight decrease in 2008. A moderate decrease was seen on the American toy market, whereas the world’s second largest toy market, Japan, saw extensive decreases. On the other Asian markets and on the Eastern European markets, toy sales were increasing, whereas markets stagnated in Western Europe in 2008. The LEGO Group has increased its market share on all its markets. Expectations for 2009 The development in 2009 is subject to great uncertainty. Already under pressure, the toy market is expected to be increasingly affected in 2009 by the worldwide recession. Nevertheless, the LEGO Group expects moderate sales increases in 2009. In order to support this growth, the LEGO Group is planning to continue its investments in the development of markets and products as well as production capacity. On this basis, satisfactory results are expected for 2009.
|