Lego to Manufacture In China

[Miami Bomb Squad]

Lego has just inked a deal to Manufacture in China, a City near Shanghai, starting in 2017.

This will also act as a distribution point to all of Asia, (Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, ect....)

You can look at it as "half full or half empty"

 

I think our selling margins to Asia will have a large impact.

 

But from a positive view, the demand and fans base would increase overnight.

We may get Regional sets that's not available to us. (The Year of the Dragon set) 

I actually think knockoffs would subside. 
 

 

[Ed Mack]

As long as standards remain high, it is a huge win for LEGO and the LEGO investor.  The Asian market could be huge for resellers and investors.

[CelesAurivern]

They already make stuff in China, don't they?

I've been to Shanghai and they have some of the highest Lego prices in Asia.

[Ed Mack]

They already make stuff in China, don't they?

I've been to Shanghai and they have some of the highest Lego prices in Asia.

I think they do on a limited basis, but this might be a more extensive undertaking.  

[kerrmando]

I think they mainly make minifigures and accessories in China from what I've heard. Obviously the collectible ones, and ones in DK books, Toys R us Bricktober, some polybags, etc... So if they are putting a brand new factory over there that is huge news!

[Diabolos80]

This is terrible news. No way will the output from China match the current Lego product standards. The very fact that TLG is doing this in China says they are okay with a dip in quality, because the only reason any company makes anything in China is because it's CHEAP. I will be the first to eat my words if Chinese Lego is up to par. But it won't be.

[@rtisan]

This is terrible news. No way will the output from China match the current Lego product standards. The very fact that TLG is doing this in China says they are okay with a dip in quality, because the only reason any company makes anything in China is because it's CHEAP. I will be the first to eat my words if Chinese Lego is up to par. But it won't be.

That is my concern as well. Basically, I don`t want a "cheap" hobby, and by cheap I mean "lack there of" in terms of quality. Nearly everyone I talk to defines Lego as a more expensive toy/item/collectible, and I agree. But I`m happy to pay for it because I value it, and recognize that many others do as well. I don`t buy anything from any clone brands/knock offs because I do not see through my eyes that same level of quality. Lego defines itself and has for a very long time, and if they do not sustain that level of quality which myself and many others have come to expect, then I would be highly disappointed. Could you imagine an official "Lego" set looking like Mega-blocks? That`s extreme, yes, but the first thing to change won`t be the art work on the box, it will be the plastic inside. 

 

And also, anyone thinking that prices may drop because of this (I`m sure there is someone out there with the notion) that is just not going to happen. People and we investors have shown that paying the premiums for Lego products is something we are accustomed to, and they know it, and will continue to profit from us just the same. 

[Miiru]

I think the Lego Company will be smart enough to have their quality standarts met. Unless they want to end up like the Steiff Company

[Guest TabbyBoy]

This is terrible news. No way will the output from China match the current Lego product standards. The very fact that TLG is doing this in China says they are okay with a dip in quality, because the only reason any company makes anything in China is because it's CHEAP. I will be the first to eat my words if Chinese Lego is up to par. But it won't be.

 

Sadly, I partly think the same.   For example, If you look closely at today's premium Apple products, you can see that screens/covers aren't always perfectly aligned.  It look 4 iMACs (new model) before I had one where the glass was perfectly bonded all the way round.  China have a very long way to go in order to meet strict Japanese and Western quality standards.  Taiwan and Korea are getting close.

 

If LEGO are doing this for purely a cost saving exercise, prepare for bricks with slightly varying colours and a less than perfect fit like MegaBloks.

 

However, this can also be good news as Ed stated if LEGO insists that its Chinese factory has a strict quality ethic (I'm very sceptical) and results in a large Eastern fan base that may also be interested in "Western" sets.

 

Maybe European-made sets may now attract a premium price?

[Miami Bomb Squad]

Guys, Some of you are missing the point.

Not only are they making it there( Which some of the current parts are already been made there), they are marketing it there, (Opening Lego Stores)

Its a Huge Marketing and Logistic Expansion. 

Hardware and Software are from Europe or USA.

I'm Sure All Management and Execs are from Denmark/Europe.  
I figure the only Chinese employees would be the Manual Labors. 

The Quality would be the same!!!!!!!
 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-02/lego-to-boost-china-sales-with-local-factories-supplying-to-asia.html

[Sauromosis]

Didn't they get negative feedback after trying this a few years ago because you could tell the "bad" plastic was from China?

[Guest TabbyBoy]

Guys, Some of you are missing the point.

Not only are they making it there( Which some of the current parts are already been made there), they are marketing it there, (Opening Lego Stores)

Its a Huge Marketing and Logistic Expansion. 

Hardware and Software are from Europe or USA.

I'm Sure All Management and Execs are from Denmark/Europe.  

I figure the only Chinese employees would be the Manual Labors. 

The Quality would be the same!!!!!!!

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-02/lego-to-boost-china-sales-with-local-factories-supplying-to-asia.html

Could that be why Dumper Truck (7631) had yellow bricks of different shades?

[Guest TabbyBoy]

Until I know for certain that quality is good, anything that states "Made in China" on the box is being returned for a refund.  I've spent years in Quality Assurance and China have a long way to go to reach my exacting standards.  It's a pity that profit comes before quality and safety in these aggressively growing economies.  I've also been an ex-pat in Hong Kong for 3

[Darth_Raichu]

One thing for sure, the quality of knock-off / bootleg lego will increase.

 

If they could make these with the current setup, imagine what would happen when most of the software and hardware are transferred there from Bilund

 

 

Guys, Some of you are missing the point.

Not only are they making it there( Which some of the current parts are already been made there), they are marketing it there, (Opening Lego Stores)

Its a Huge Marketing and Logistic Expansion. 

Hardware and Software are from Europe or USA.

I'm Sure All Management and Execs are from Denmark/Europe.  
I figure the only Chinese employees would be the Manual Labors. 

The Quality would be the same!!!!!!!
 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-02/lego-to-boost-china-sales-with-local-factories-supplying-to-asia.html

 

Please tell me you were being sarcastic.  Otherwise, you might want to do a quick google search on the topic.

[Darth_Raichu]

Until I know for certain that quality is good, anything that states "Made in China" on the box is being returned for a refund.  I've spent years in Quality Assurance and China have a long way to go to reach my exacting standards.  It's a pity that profit comes before quality and safety in these aggressively growing economies.  I've also been an ex-pat in Hong Kong for 3

[turbomattk]

Ugh, I probably won't ever try dog meat.  Pigeons, on the other hand, are quite yummy

 

Pigeons - rats of the sky!

[Darth_Raichu]

Pigeons - rats of the sky!

The same thing can be said about crayfish or lobsters and the sea

[CelesAurivern]

Until I know for certain that quality is good, anything that states "Made in China" on the box is being returned for a refund.  I've spent years in Quality Assurance and China have a long way to go to reach my exacting standards.  It's a pity that profit comes before quality and safety in these aggressively growing economies.  I've also been an ex-pat in Hong Kong for 3

[boliramirez]

I think you guys are overeacting to Lego manufacturing in China, I own an injection molding plant and I have been to the Lego Plant in Monterrey, Mexico,

It pretty much runs without much labor in the molding area and a lot of the packaging is automated in some way......  They mostly use Arburg injection molding machines

and they will use the same brand in the new plant, the molds I bet would be from denmark , they only need to get their raw materials from the same suppliers, they are all over the wolrd already.... So in my humble opinion it has to do more with the logistics and exploting the huge Asian market than trying to save a buck in cheap labor when their profit margins are already huge......  my two cents....

[Diabolos80]

If we learned anything from the CMFs, it's that Lego products made in China are inferior. So far. TLG didn't seem to mind using cheaper plastic, regardless of molding machines or labor.

[Alcarin]

I think you guys are overeacting to Lego manufacturing in China, I own an injection molding plant and I have been to the Lego Plant in Monterrey, Mexico,

It pretty much runs without much labor in the molding area and a lot of the packaging is automated in some way......  They mostly use Arburg injection molding machines

and they will use the same brand in the new plant, the molds I bet would be from denmark , they only need to get their raw materials from the same suppliers, they are all over the wolrd already.... So in my humble opinion it has to do more with the logistics and exploting the huge Asian market than trying to save a buck in cheap labor when their profit margins are already huge......  my two cents....

 

 

I thought you are forced to buy Chinese materials if you produce in China... its what i heard somewhere not sure if its true!

[Fcbarcelona101]

Well, so far I have not had an issue with products made in China when it comes to brand names like Apple or just about every other company really. As long as they have good quality controls, and they will, everything should be pretty much the same.

[boliramirez]

That is a tough decision to make (use cheap plastic) if you own a molding bussiness, cheaper plastic, means less molding efficiency, meaning that

you will need to attend each molding machine quite offten and require a process technician( not cheap labor) to resume production

on a constant basis.... If I learned anything for visiting a lego facility is that their molding areas are hardly attended, they have over 70

molding presess and no more than 2 technicians are in charge of that area.....

[CelesAurivern]

I thought you are forced to buy Chinese materials if you produce in China... its what i heard somewhere not sure if its true!

I wouldn't go so far as to say forced, but sensibly, if the raw materials are available locally, would you ship tons of ABS halfway across the world?

The objective is to save money right? Else, why not open a factory in S. Korea or Japan?

[spener90]

I think you guys are overeacting to Lego manufacturing in China, I own an injection molding plant and I have been to the Lego Plant in Monterrey, Mexico,

It pretty much runs without much labor in the molding area and a lot of the packaging is automated in some way......  They mostly use Arburg injection molding machines

and they will use the same brand in the new plant, the molds I bet would be from denmark , they only need to get their raw materials from the same suppliers, they are all over the wolrd already.... So in my humble opinion it has to do more with the logistics and exploting the huge Asian market than trying to save a buck in cheap labor when their profit margins are already huge......  my two cents....

Exactly, this isn't an attempt to expand to a new area of the world.  I have doubts that the quality will suffer.  After all, if you want to talk about western quality, much of Mega Blocks, as well as the entire Halo line (if I'm not mistaken?), are made in Canada.  I'm not really worried about it, and 2017 is a long ways away.