LEGO Ladyfigs, Hobbit Minifigures and Playsets to Help Christmas 2012 Sales?

Best New LEGO Toys for Christmas 2012 May Not Help Toy Company Stay on Top

Staff Report

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK - What are the best toys 2012? If you look at the sales numbers for LEGO in the first half of the year, you would think they were on top. There is still concern, however, among big-wigs at LEGO headquarters, especially when it comes to US sales this Q4 holiday season.

With Christmas 2012 quickly approaching, new LEGO sets like those targeted especially for girls and the new Hobbit minifigures are sure to help sales, but there are worries coming out of LEGO HQ.

The Wall Street Journal wrote:

Chief Executive Jørgen Vig Knudstorp said in an interview that the approaching presidential elections, rising debt and economic uncertainty are weighing on the critical U.S. market.

"The U.S. consumer is still quite heavily indebted, and with an election coming up, whoever gets elected, taxes will go up and government spending will go down," Mr. Knudstorp said. "So what will that do to consumer spending? So there's a big factor of uncertainty in the U.S."

There were some feminist groups that criticized the new LEGO "ladyfigs" made especially for girls, but they were what drove a lot of growth for the toy company in the first half of 2012. On Friday LEGO announced their net profit rose to 2 billion kroner ($336 million), from 1.48 billion kroner in the first six months of 2012. Sales rose 24% to 9.1 billion kroner, which is quite impressive considering the current status of the economy.