Lego Quiz Case Notes
The toy industry
Industry booked wholesale revenues $61B in 2004 and grew 4% per year
Couple important trends
• Fad toys seemed to be sising and product life cycles declining
• Children had more after-school activities and less unscheduled play time
• For kids over 3, demand shifted toward technology
*as children gave up traditional toys earlier for videogames and online activities, childhood became
shorter and adolescence longer
There were thousands of toymakers, but only a handful led the industry.
– Mattel ($5.1B)
o Fischer price, Barbie, Hot wheels etc
– Hasbro ($3B)
o Transformers, Monopoly, GI joe, playdoh
To win customer attention and retail shelf space, toymakers introduced new products, cut wholesale
prices, sponsored coop ads and promitions, provided in store support, and advertised to consumers
*new product introductions was muted by rapid imitation and limited protection of intellectual property
