(Invest in China) Senior Vice President of Lego Group: This year there will be 300 branded retail stores in China
China News Service, Beijing, July 12th. Title: Senior Vice President of Lego Group: This year there will be 300 branded retail stores in China
China News Agency reporter Li Xiaoyu
Huang Guoqiang, senior vice president of the Lego Group and general manager of the China region, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Agency that this year, the Lego Group will have 300 retail stores in China, and the future market layout in China will further tilt to second and third-tier cities.
China's toy market has huge potential
Under the epidemic situation, the Lego Group will still deliver a good report card in 2020: annual total operating income increased by 13%, of which the Asia-Pacific region grew by 17.7%.
Compared with the two major market segments of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, although the Asia-Pacific region's revenue is small, it has the fastest growth rate and has great potential.
Huang Guoqiang believes that China’s economic development has entered a new stage. “The rapid development of second- and third-tier cities, the continuous expansion of middle-income groups, and the continuous upgrading of consumption as people’s incomes have brought more opportunities to the LEGO Group.”
"China is a very important market for the Lego Group, because there are many, many children, many, many families." Huang Guoqiang said that Chinese parents are increasingly aware of the importance of letting children learn and develop while playing. Moreover, China has a saying of "education through fun", which coincides with the Lego Group's philosophy of "Learning through play" (Learning through play). Therefore, the Chinese market's acceptance of the Lego Group's philosophy is also very high.
He said that Jiaxing, Zhejiang currently has the only LEGO Group production plant in Asia, and all the 5 LEGO flagship stores in Asia are currently in the Chinese market, which shows that the LEGO Group attaches great importance to the Chinese market.
This year there will be 300 Lego brand retail stores in China
Affected by the epidemic, many companies have chosen to close some offline stores, but the Lego Group has "acted the opposite way" and accelerated offline expansion.
In 2020, the LEGO Group will open a total of 134 offline stores around the world, of which 91 are in China, which is significantly higher than the expected target of 80.
In the first half of this year, the Lego Group opened a total of 46 branded retail stores, 30 of which are located in China.
Huang Guoqiang said that the epidemic will have a certain impact on offline industries in the short term, but the development prospects of the Chinese market are still worth looking forward to.
"China has a population of more than 200 million between the ages of 0 and 14 years. This is a huge market. At present, our development in the Chinese market is still in its infancy, and the primary goal at the moment is to cover more cities."
He revealed that this year the LEGO Group’s branded retail stores in China will increase to 300.
In the next step, the Lego Group will open branded retail stores in more cities, especially in second- and third-tier cities.
In the future, children in China do not have to go to Beijing, Shanghai or provincial capital cities to find Lego brand retail stores, they can enjoy the Lego play experience at their doorstep.
At the same time, work to optimize the online shopping experience is also underway.
The Lego Group has opened official flagship stores on major e-commerce platforms such as Tmall and JD.com and has maintained a high degree of activity.
However, the Lego Group is not the only one fighting for the Chinese "cake".
Chinese domestic toy brands are rising rapidly, and some even position themselves as "Lego challengers"; other world-renowned toy brands are also increasing their efforts to explore the Chinese market.
In order to meet the needs of the Chinese market, the LEGO Group has made many localized designs.
For example, in 2020, the Lego Group launched the first product series "Lego Wukong Xiaoxia" series inspired by the classic Chinese classic "Journey to the West".
In addition, the LEGO Group has also released a limited set with the theme scene of the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner.
In Huang Guoqiang's view, considering the huge potential of China's toy market, it is not surprising that more domestic and foreign brands participate in market competition.
"With economic development and the upgrading of consumption concepts, more and more Chinese consumers want better products and a better shopping experience. We believe this is beneficial to the Lego Group." (End)