The Danish toy manufacturer’s 2023 revenue was up 2% compared with the previous year, reaching DKK 65.9 billion (€88.4 billion).
Last year’s growth was significantly lower than 2022’s, when Lego’s revenue grew by 17% compared with the previous year. It is the slowest growth the Danish brand has had since 2017, a symptom of the struggling toy industry.
The economic crisis has recently forced many households into reconsidering their expenses, especially around the holidays which are the biggest time of the year for the toy market. Many, for instance, chose to turn to second-hand presents, or simply to have fewer presents under their Christmas tree.
Given the harsh reality of the industry which, experts say, is going through its roughest patch in more than 15 years, Lego’s last year’s performances are not as disappointing as they might seem at first glance.
Operating profit was DKK 17.1 billion (€2.3 billion) against DKK 17.9 billion (€2.4 billion) in 2022, the Danish company announced on Tuesday.
“We are pleased with our performance given that 2023 was the most negative toy market in more than 15 years,” said Lego CEO Niels Christiansen. “We continued to grow on top of three years of extraordinary growth and saw strong momentum in the final quarter of 2023.”
While miniature brick toys remain Lego’s brand identity, the company is also diversifying by investing in other products that allows its results to remain encouraging, compared with other household name toy brands.
“We continued to invest for the future and made good progress on digital, sustainability and retail initiatives that will support long-term growth,” explained Christiansen.
Over the past decade, Lego theme parks have flourished all over the world, and the company has also invested in the cinema and TV industry, with its own production starring its well-known yellow toy figures.
