The Lego Group | |
Private | |
Industry | Toys |
Founded | 10 August 1932 |
Founder | Ole Kirk Christiansen |
Headquarters | Billund, Denmark |
Number of locations
|
42 offices (2017) |
Key people
|
|
Products | Lego |
Revenue | 15.692 billion kr. (2016) |
4.655 billion kr. (2016) | |
3.489 billion kr. (2016) | |
Owner |
|
Number of employees
|
14.762 (2015) |
Website | lego |
Lego A/S,doing business as The Lego Group, is a Danish family-owned company based in Billund, Denmark. It is best known for the manufacture of Lego-brand toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks around the world, each known as Legoland, and operates several retail stores.
The company was founded on 10 August 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen. The word "lego" is derived from the Danish words "leg godt", meaning "play well". The word "lego" also means "I put together" in Latin, and "I connect" or "I tie" in Italian. In the first half of 2015, The Lego Group became the world's largest toy company by revenue, with sales amounting to US$2.1 billion, surpassing Mattel, which had US$1.9 billion in sales.
The history of Lego spans nearly 100 years, beginning with the creation of small wooden playthings during the early 20th century. Manufacturing of plastic Lego bricks began in Denmark in 1947, but since has grown to include factories throughout the world.
Below are historical images of the Lego logo throughout the company's existence.
Lego logo from 1934 - 1936
Lego logo from 1936 - 1946
Lego logo from 1946 - 1948
Lego logo from 1948 - 1950
Lego logo alternative from 1948 - 1950
Lego logo from 1953 - 1959
Lego logo alternative from 1954 - 1959
Lego System logo from 1959 - 1964
Lego System logo from 1964 - 1972
Lego logo from 1972 - 17 November 1998
Lego logo from 18 November 1998 to current
Since the expiration of the last standing Lego patent in 1989, a number of companies have produced interlocking bricks that are similar to Lego bricks. The toy company Tyco Toys produced such bricks for a time; other competitors include Mega Bloks and Best-Lock. These competitor products are typically compatible with Lego bricks, and are often marketed at a lower cost than Lego sets.