Inventing the future play: Lego - Essay Example

Inventing the future play: Lego Introduction Lego is a colossal Danish toy company that is well renowned for its change in preferences and tastes and the major advancements it has made in the innovative world as it struggles to be competitive and maintain a stance in the toy market that is struggling to be relevant in the awakening of more sophisticated toy paraphernalia like the computer games. The main concept of the of this case study application is the introduction of the brightly coloured plastic building bricks which has progressed the toy company to be the world’s 5th largest and assisted it to maintain a ground against the steadily rising competitors. This concept lies within the marketing strategy used by the Lego Company. The objective of this assignment is to establish whether the innovative strategy and product development which is the methodology that the Lego Plastic toy company pursues in its bid to become globally competitive especially to the American counterparts that deal with the making and development of toys too (Kelley, 2007) is a productive and a viable venture. The objective is that Lego has taken the route of majoring in the brightly coloured building bricks and has greatly invested in a huge range of variations on its product theme so as to have many different kits on its product range at different prices and to have them selling world-wide. Competitive advantages of the Lego Plastics as it appear in the strategy clock The Lego Company has its competitive advantages to the fact that it is the pioneer of the brightly coloured building bricks that was launched in 1949 and has grown tremendously to the variations in the basic product into 1700 different parts which include shapes, bricks and miniature people that little children who compose much of the targeted market can use to make almost anything. The resulting outcomes range from small to large cars models and working space stations which are battery-operated space stations. This has spearheaded the competitive resolve grounds of the Lego Company and has helped in the attainment of the strategic planning that has seen its sales increase considerably to an estimate of over 10 billion Danish kroners in the year 1999. According to Singh (2008), the future depends on the competitive advantages that have to constantly develop towards new innovative direction. Theory Application (strategy development) The Lego Company has an equivalent of 830 sterling pounds market share and it is relatable to a great deal of profit margin especially in this modern market structure. This is due to the theory and methodology applied by the Lego Company which has been positively changed to incorporate other aspects such as the new kit for girls that composed of a whole girl’s series that has miniature furniture and dolls. It went a step ahead to market construction kits with instructions and microchips on CD-ROMs. The theories which prove that the modern children will tend to like the new kits will end up increasing the profits of the toy company. This was to combat the rise of computer games and the drastic change that occurred in the mid-1990s which enhanced change in preference of computer games as the future play tool. This change has greatly helped in enhancing the competitive aspects of the Lego Company to its advantage. Strategy development direction for Lego Plastic Company The Lego Company has a strategic direction that is vested within its desire to become very competitive and aggressively motivated by the ever increasing competitors that can go to the extent of making and developing products that are similar to the ones produced by the company. This strategy has made the company to sue for plagiarism and product rights infringement to no avail and the last thing that it had to do was step up and stay ahead of its competition. This strategy has led to the direction it has taken towards the international consumer research that has been extensively carried out to help it understand the target market thoroughly and this has led to diversity in its manufacturing areas such that in has branches in countries such the Brazil, South Korea, Germany, Switzerland and the USA. This has increased its target market considerably and assisted in the reduction of operation costs as it doesn’t have to incur extra costs in the shipping of its products from one manufacturing area. For instance, in 1998, the company introduced a new Mind storm range built entirely around a brick powered by AA batteries which could be easily incorporated into different models that could be directed to move with the use of infra-red transmitter. This technology is evidence that the company just wanted to reduce its costs to a realistic level before introducing it into the market which worked perfectly. According to Ireland (2008), the Lego Company underwent massive restructuring so as to give its strategy concepts enough grounds on the business arena that is changing fast and is becoming technologically savvy. This assists the Lego Company to be able have superior performance when it comes to the strategic application of its planning and business schemes. Conclusion The Lego Company has diversified its operations and sees itself as being more linked to the Japanese market than with the U.S one. This has made it to be more linked with the suppliers of its machinery and to focus on the new theme park that entails displays and rides built with the company’s Lego bricks in Denmark. According to Drucker (2012), the Lego Company has had a lot of success due to the use of policies and strategies that are vested entirely on innovation. This has led to the company surviving more competitive upheavals that could have seen it to its demise. This is entirely part of the research methodology it undertook into the study of consumer tastes and preferences.According to Schultz (2005), the Lego Company has its major strengths in the theme park that defines its brand which is internationally recognized and very well placed in the business world. Reference Drucker, P., 2012. Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Routledge Publishers: London. Ireland, R., D. 2008. Understanding Business Strategy: Concepts and Cases Strategic Management Series. Cengage Learning: Boston. Kelley, T., 2007.The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm. Crown Publishing Group: New York. Singh, M., 2008.Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage. Global India Publications: Singapore. Schultz, M., 2005. Corporate Branding: Purpose, People, Process ; Towards the Second Wave of Corporate Branding. Copenhagen Business School Press DK publishers: Copenhagen. Read More