Lego to Manufacture In China

[Guest eightbrick]

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.

Um... just because something comes out of China doesn't mean bad quality. Companies outsource jobs because labor in Asia is cheap, the product produced has nothing to do with that. Hundreds of the biggest companies are out there, many of them, high-end, high-quality companies, like Apple or Nike in the southeast, and yet they still retain their brand image. The so called Chinese minifigures that have a slightly less than opaque quality resulted due to a different dye or something I believe. Besides, this news is pretty old by now, its been around since March and been mentioned numerous times in Blogs and the Asia section.

 

And you guys don't have to worry about quality unless you plan to move to China. The plant is feeding the local demand, not the global demand. I'm happy for all the Asian Lego fans out there, perhaps their prices will finally equalize along the lines of American pricing. And trust me, the people in China will have no qualms with the quality, especially in a market flooded with those hastily made knock-offs that don't even fit together sometimes (I know this from personal experience). This is wonderful news for the Asian consumer, and why people it doesn't effect are complaining, I'm not really sure.

[jeff_14]

Many of my favourite products are made in China, from iphones to comic books to Star Wars action figures. China makes (or soon will) more General Motors cars now than the US. It's a very case by case approach. If Lego does it right there should be no deterioration in quality, but the price may go down. I'll take that action. And if Lego catches fire in Asia, there should be an uptick in demand for past sets as buyers look to see what else they can get. Buy and hold people. 

[Alcarin]

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?

 

Yes but if Chinese plastic material is worse than that from Denmark, Mexico or Czech then yes i find this troublesome...

[Miami Bomb Squad]

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....

Ramirez, You hit it on the Head.

Its not the Cheap Labor it wants, its the Asian Market, especially China  (1.3 billion people) & India (1.1 billion)

IF they wanted cheap labor, They can go to Africa, Indonesia, Bangladesh. (What a mess that would be)

For all we know, the raw material (Polymers) may already be coming from China. Im sure this was one of their top priority, the supply chain.

So the key question is: if their Current supplier is NOT already in China, are they going to use a NEW supplier or ship it into China?

 

[Guest eightbrick]

Its not the Cheap Labor it wants, its the Asian Market, especially China  (1.3 billion people) & India (1.1 billion)

 

Exactly, same as all the oil and gas demands. They need a product, and we need a pipeline to get it there. Only in this case, the pipeline is actually a factory. No doubt, no doubt regional prices will fall, but hey, when they do, more and more people will go out and buy a car. Or maybe even a Lego car...

[comicblast]

I think that this is pretty good news. True, companies go to Asia for cheap labor, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they will be skimping on the quality. As Eightbrick said, some huge, successful companies produce goods in China, like Apple. The large majority of consumers who get iPads, iPods, an iPhones are thoroughly satisfied with what they get. In addition, manufacturing in China opens up a VERY, VERY large number of consumers that probably have very limited exposure to the LEGO brand. How many members do we have on BrickPicker complaining about the high prices in their respective countries? A lot. How many would be willing to deal with American resellers who give them prices that are below their country's MSRP? Majority. I don't see how this new, gigantic market could possibly hurt resellers.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

China is going to take over the world. That is what I take from this.

[comicblast]

China is going to take over the world. That is what I take from this.

Read this too fast and saw "Chima is going to take over the world." 

[Miami Bomb Squad]

Too true. It's not just the equipment that matters, your moulds can be made in Denmark, but the workers doing the handling and sorting.... Anyway, this just means smuggling and leaks at an unprecedented level.

Smuggling and Leaks at an unprecedented level?  

Now where was that guy, Edward Snowden, from again?

Illegal Activities happens at every level, every nationality, and every country state and city.

The Major of my City just got arrested for Fraud, Corruption etc.... Yes, in good ole US of A.

[CelesAurivern]

True, companies go to Asia for cheap labor, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they will be skimping on the quality. As Eightbrick said, some huge, successful companies produce goods in China, like Apple. The large majority of consumers who get iPads, iPods, an iPhones are thoroughly satisfied with what they get.

Successful? Yes.

Exploitative? Of course.

Why else would anyone go to the China market if not to exploit cheap labour.

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-06/business/41819679_1_supply-chain-apple-s-kristin-huguet

This is not the first time Apple has run into these kind of problems, mind.

 

 

Ramirez, You hit it on the Head.

Its not the Cheap Labor it wants, its the Asian Market, especially China  (1.3 billion people) & India (1.1 billion)

IF they wanted cheap labor, They can go to Africa, Indonesia, Bangladesh. (What a mess that would be)

Trying to capture the Asian market is a politically correct way of justifying moving operations to China.

Imagine the CEO issuing a press statement telling the consumers we're doing it to cut costs and maximise profits.

 

Not to say it doesn't count at all, but at the end of the day, it is about cheaper labour, cheaper materials, good infrastructure, stable government.

When you build a factory, especially one with lots of equipment, these are important factors to consider.

I dare say Africa, Indonesia and Bangladesh do not fulfill at least 3 of the above criteria.

[CelesAurivern]

Ramirez, You hit it on the Head.

Its not the Cheap Labor it wants, its the Asian Market, especially China  (1.3 billion people) & India (1.1 billion)

IF they wanted cheap labor, They can go to Africa, Indonesia, Bangladesh. (What a mess that would be)

Not to say capturing the market doesn't count.

It is the cheap labour that they want, but it wouldn't be politically correct to issue a press statement citing that as a factor.

There are several key factors in this: cheap labour, cheap raw materials, good infrastructure, stable government.

I dare say Africa, Indonesia, Bangladesh do not fulfill at least 3 of the above.

[wesman888]

Too true. It's not just the equipment that matters, your moulds can be made in Denmark, but the workers doing the handling and sorting.... Anyway, this just means smuggling and leaks at an unprecedented level.

 

Chinese are the notorious experts of selling secrets and information to others to follow...

[kerrmando]

This is a bit off topic, but since someone posted about eating dog early....

 

WHOEVER EATS DOG MEAT DOES NOT DESERVE TO PLAY WiTH LEGOS 

 

I hate it when people eat dogs, they are just so cute and pets not food hah. 

 

I'm kinda being facetious, but actually I don't like it when people eat dogs. 

[Fcbarcelona101]

This is a bit off topic, but since someone posted about eating dog early....

 

WHOEVER EATS DOG MEAT DOES NOT DESERVE TO PLAY WiTH LEGOS 

 

I hate it when people eat dogs, they are just so cute and pets not food hah. 

 

I'm kinda being facetious, but actually I don't like it when people eat dogs.

Not only playing with, but selling/investing either!!!

[Darth_Raichu]

This is a bit off topic, but since someone posted about eating dog early....

 

WHOEVER EATS DOG MEAT DOES NOT DESERVE TO PLAY WiTH LEGOS 

 

I hate it when people eat dogs, they are just so cute and pets not food hah. 

 

I'm kinda being facetious, but actually I don't like it when people eat dogs. 

 

And here I thought you sell LEGO to people in China on regular basis...

[Ed Mack]

There is truth to a lot of the above statements...

 

• LEGO is trying to save money.  
• LEGO is trying to expand into the Asian market.  
• Quality will probably suffer(to a small degree at least).  
• LEGO sales will go up.  
• The LEGO secondary market will prosper because of this expansion.
• I have issues with people who eat dogs.

 

That's about it.  

[kerrmando]

And here I thought you sell LEGO to people in China on regular basis...

If they tell me they eat dog on a regular basis I will raise the price on them >_< 

 

It was one of the things that pissed me off the most when I was over there. I just cant stand it hah

[MartinP]

Very interesting. I agree that the knock-offs will decrease as Lego becomes more prevalent in Asia.

[justafrog]

My only objection is if someone tries to eat my own particular dogs. Other than that, have at it. Goats are smart, people eat them. Horses are loyal, people eat them. Cows are... nevermind, I have nothing good to say about cows except they're delicious. But we did have two pet turkeys once, very nice, affectionate birds. We ate their cousins every Thanksgiving anyway.

 

On topic: I'm a wait and see before I freak out girl. I only have so much time allocated per day to freaking out about stuff, and if I blow it on something that turns out fine, it's a wasted opportunity to pitch a fit over something that matters!

[legofreeman]

I'm not too concerned with the quality issue.  After the problems they had a few years back with the color variants of the green bricks produced in Mexico, I'm sure they will be extra vigilant to ensure a high standard of quality controls.

 

The culture of TLC has always been about producing the highest standard of product and taking care of their employees.  If their focus was only on finding the cheapest labor, they would have moved production out of Denmark a long time ago.  This seems like it is more about cost-effective expansion.

 

Also, I think this is great news for our Aisan and Aussie AFOL friends.  They've been overpaying for LEGO for too long.

[TheOrcKing]

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.

I take it you don't collect many Collectable Minifigures then. I have a few hundred of those and the quality is amazing especially the ones with both front & back printing. I've really only come across a couple of flaws rather sparsely. The minifigures from the DK books are great too.

Somewhere in this topic, I'm waiting for somebody from China to speak out.

[BrickPick3r]

I think they will definitely control the quality. 

 

 

 

But bad news for some investors. Now they have access to lego at their own home (well, if the price is low).

 

 

Or may be the price could be so low that they can sell to US .... kind of taking turn

[Anakinisvader]

Somewhere in this topic, I'm waiting for somebody from China to speak out.

 

They can't.  Government controls internet.  Communism, gotta love it.

[asharerin]

If you thought ebay was flooded with chinese sellers at the moment wait until they enter the lego market. Ouch. This is going to bring much pain if they are to manufacture and distribute the exclusives - basically game over.

[BrickPick3r]

If you thought ebay was flooded with chinese sellers at the moment wait until they enter the lego market. Ouch. This is going to bring much pain if they are to manufacture and distribute the exclusives - basically game over.

They also have low shipping cost as well. I don't know how they manage to have a free shipping for an item that cost fews dollars to oversea and still profit.