LEGO defies the market odds, builds a profit
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How is New Zealand’s new screen‑time policy linked to LEGO’s resurgence?
Screens would be banned in early childhood centres and strict limits introduced in primary schools under a National Party plan aimed at getting more children ready for school. The Nats pushed for the cell phone ban in schools and to keep teens off social media. Now they're eyeing younger kids' screen time.
New Zealand needs an unplug and a reset. National has dialed up a new policy, a push for less screen time for kids. And as this proposed plan landed this week, a new report was released revealing many Kiwi teens actually believe they were too young when they first got a smartphone, with most aged just 11. The study highlights just how addictive and distracting smartphones can be.
linking early smartphone use to increased anxiety, depression and obesity. More and more research is beginning to show that these interruptions are actually impacting on cognitive abilities, so our kids' ability to pay attention, to stay on task when they're doing schoolwork and things like that. If they're spending 42 hours a week on these devices, that's 42 hours that they could be playing with friends, putting into a new hobby.
Or perhaps an old-fashioned hobby like Lego. Yes, the humble building block may be an answer to getting Kiwi kids to put down their devices and start creating again.
You're bringing together things like spatial reasoning, working memory, planning, problem solving and cognitive flexibility.
In New Zealand, Lego is going from strength to strength, bucking market trends and growing for more than 20 years straight. The company has just reported total revenue of $80 million for last year. That's up 8.7% from 2024. It
seems to buck fashion, doesn't it? It's not like it's a fashion that might go out of fashion. We're living in the age of tablets and devices and AI and such like, yet Lego is still here.
And this mirrors
the
global trend. Lego just announced its first half of the 2026 financial report. Lego made 8.6 billion Danish kroner, which is $1.3 billion. So Lego is on pace to make well over $2.5 billion in total profits in 2026 if the second half is anything like the first half.
Hi, I'm Amanda Gillies and today on The Detail. Brick by brick, Lego has built a stunning comeback in New Zealand. After fears of bankruptcy in 2003, the brand is now stronger than ever and more stores are set to appear. So today I talked to a Lego-loving clinical psychologist about the benefits of Kiwis, yes, young and old, playing with the interconnecting plastic brick toy.
The power isn't really in the brick itself. It's what the child gets to do with it. It allows the child to imagine, make choices, experiment, solve problems, connect with other people and try again and create something meaningful to them. And that is something that I still have with me now as an adult when playing and building Lego bricks.
What financial results show LEGO’s growth in New Zealand and globally?
I'll have more from Dr Camilla Nguyen in a moment, and I'll also look at some of the recent LEGO scandals. But first, RNZ's business reporter Geoffrey Halley, who has crunched the LEGO New Zealand numbers.
I grew up with Lego, so I do have a soft spot for it, I must confess. And I've also stood on it, so I found a soft spot on my foot as well. Look, it's a premium brand. I don't think they want to be the mass market. They've probably copied, so to speak. I think they're not there to be the company that has 90% of the space. I think they're more of a premium brand. Therefore, they should have higher profit margins. Lego seems to be fairly timeless. I mean, it was around when I was a youngster, so we're talking a long way back. And it's become popular even with the adults now, I believe. But looking at the numbers here for Lego New Zealand, it turned over, I think, about $33 million back in 2015. And in the latest accounts, it turned over just over $80 million.
But it actually only made a profit of $2.1 million yesterday. that's only a 2.6 percent profit margin that seems to me very low for what i would consider to be a premium lower volume brand you would expect those profit margins to be much much higher if you look at apple you look at what it makes off each iphone or computer i mean that's massively higher than what lego are making off these already very expensive kits
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How is New Zealand’s new screen‑time policy linked to LEGO’s resurgence?
0:04–3:30
2
What financial results show LEGO’s growth in New Zealand and globally?
3:30–6:16
3
Why does LEGO remain a premium, recession‑proof brand?
6:16–8:48
4
What are the recent LEGO controversies and scandals?
8:48–11:58
5
How does LEGO support child development and cognitive skills?
11:58–14:44
6
What does clinical psychologist Dr Camilla Nguyen say about LEGO versus screens?
14:44–17:47
7
How do adult LEGO fans (AFOLs) keep the hobby alive and social?
17:47–20:30
8
What can listeners expect from upcoming LEGO exhibitions in New Zealand?
20:30–22:36