What does Lego mean in Danish? Lego classics build growth for Danish toymaker in shrinking market

What does lego mean in danish ? Lego has a very interesting history. Many years ago, a carpenter named Ole Kirk Christiansen was down on his luck. He lost his business and soon after he lost his wife, but he was not the type of man who easily gave up. He had to take care of his sons.

One day, he made a toy and when he saw how happy his sons were with what he made, he decided to make toys for a living. He used the finest wood to put together his creations. When he thought of a name for his company, he got it from the Danish phrase “leg godt”, which means “play well”. That’s where the name Lego came from.

As they continued producing different kinds of toys, they came upon an idea. Godfred, Ole’s son, thought that the problem with the toys that time was that children were given ready-made solutions. The toys needed an idea and a system built around it. He wanted to put system into play. He believed children needed something that will strengthen their imagination and creativity. So, he tried to put Lego into a system and it made a splash. Then Lego started producing the first Lego system of play.

Children could then make houses from the Lego bricks. The town plan gave play a realistic town setting. With this, children learned many things such as traffic safety. They could play with the Lego system for hours. These children were the luckiest children in the world. It was a breakthrough so Godfred decided to sell it outside of Denmark. It became so popular that he managed to sell it to many countries. That’s how Lego came to be. With a child’s imagination, Lego can be anything in the world over and over again.

what does lego mean in danish

IS THE SECRET TO DANISH HAPPINESS HIDDEN IN LEGO?

We have all thought about what it means to be a parent from time to time, but have you ever wondered how our culture affects the way we view what we think is the right way to parent? In Norway, parents regularly leave children to sleep outside in -20 degree weather, in Belgium children are allowed to drink beer and Japan kids ride the metro at 7 years old. While these behaviors may sound bizarre to us, to these parents, they are the “right way”.

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These implicit ideas we have about the right way to raise children are what Sarah Harkness, a professor of human development at the University of Connecticut, calls “parental ethnotheories”. These beliefs are so engrained in us that it is almost impossible to see them objectively.

But what if we could take off our cultural lenses for a moment and try on another perspective? What if we could look through the lenses of one of the happiest countries in the world for over 40 years in a row and see what they believe is the right way to raise children. Is there anything we might learn? What if one of the secrets to their success was as simple as child’s play?

Denmark, the land of Lego and Hans Christian Andersen, is currently the third happiest country in the world (they are constantly in the top 3 since 1973) and one thing they do differently is see free, unstructured, non-adult led play as one of the most important activities a child can engage in. It is considered an educational theory and has been since 1871.

“Free play is seen as crucial, not optional in Denmark” says Dorthe Mikkelsen a Danish teacher of a Fritid skole or “Free time School” (where children are encouraged to just play after they finish regular school). “Play helps children process all of what they learn with others. It builds empathy, negotiation and skills that are so important for building the child’s self esteem, not just in academics.”

Scientists have been studying play in animals for years trying to understand its evolutionary purpose and one thing they have found is that play is crucial for learning how to cope with stress. Hanging from bars, play fighting, chasing each other, and learning how to negotiate are all things that occur in play. Children practice putting themselves into fight or flight positions and stressful situations to see how much they can handle and then they manage how far they will go with it. Play helps children develop coping mechanisms, self-control and resilience, which has been proven to be a key factor in long term happiness.

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Many parents can feel lazy letting kids play freely and not programming their days with activities. Despite all the research backing up it’s educational benefits and the fact that the current number one happiest country in the world, which is Finland, also sees play as a fundamental learning tool for children. Finland happens to be a global leader in education as well. Is it time we take play more seriously?

It’s interesting to consider that Lego, the world’s biggest toy company was invented by a Danish carpenter in 1932 watching children play and use their imaginations freely. This inspired him so much that the word Lego is actually a contraction of the words “leg godt” put together or “play well”. Even then, Danes knew that being able to “play well” was a building block for a future empire of happiness.

what does lego mean in danish

Lego classics build growth for Danish toymaker in shrinking market 

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Model fire stations and garbage trucks helped Lego defy a shrinking toy market with a rise in sales last year, as the plastic brick maker outpaced rivals with the latest versions of its classic kits, as well as new stores and a revamped website.

After a decade of double-digit sales growth skidded to a halt in 2017, family-owned Lego has returned to form since chief executive Niels Christiansen took the helm that year.

The company, which fights for market share in the global toy industry with the likes of Barbie maker Mattel MAT.O and Hasbro HAS.O, said on Wednesday sales rose 6% last year to 38.5 billion Danish crowns ($5.7 billion), up from 3% growth in 2018.

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“It was a strong year where we outperformed the toy industry,” Christiansen said in a statement.

In February, Mattel reported flat annual net sales, while Hasbro, the firm behind My Little Pony, saw net revenue rise 3%.

Lego estimates the global toy market contracted 3% last year. But it grew sales in all its major markets, including “strong” double-digit growth in China, it said.

The firm, which has 570 stores worldwide, more than doubled its number of stores in China last year to 140. It sees that number rising to 220 this year.

Christiansen told Reuters he would aim for single-digit revenue growth again in 2020, to allow for further investments into IT, new stores and production innovation.

Net profit in 2019 rose just 2.8% to 8.3 billion crowns, partly due to higher expenses, which increased 8.2%.

Despite strong sales from popular licensed Lego products such as “Harry Potter” and Marvel’s “Avengers”, the top-selling products were from ranges such as Lego City, Lego Classic and Lego Technic that have been around for decades.

“Of course, those are older themes, but as you know, we replace 60% of our products each year,” Christiansen said.

“We actually consider these themes ‘evergreen’, which constantly need to be relevant,” he said, adding they gave “play experiences like the one you would get outside your door.”

But Lego, an abbreviation of “leg godt” meaning “play well” in Danish, is also banking on technology to stay up to date with new generations.

It saw 27% more traffic on its recently transformed website, and launched “Hidden Side” last year, which combines regular building sets with augmented reality.

Above is information what does lego mean in danish.  Hopefully, through the above content, you have a more detailed understanding of what does lego mean in danish .Thank you for reading our post.

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