When Ole Kirk Christiansen founded his workshop in Billund, Denmark in 1932 He produced wooden toys and furniture. The business was not very successful and he struggled in the beginning of the 30s. However, in 1934, he decided to focus on building toys and changed the name of his company to LEGO which is a contraction of the Danish words “leg godt” (play well).
In the 1960s, the company grew to other Nordic countries. The company also invented smaller bricks that were ideal for small hands, and important site named it DUPLO after the Latin word duplex (two-fold). This allowed young children to build more intricate models.
In the 1970s Lego began to incorporate new features that made its products stand out from the other brands. For instance, they included a range of different faces to their miniature figures. This made their characters look more real and allowed them to express various expressions and emotions. The Lego Group added wheels to their bricks, allowing them to create vehicles and other machines.
The next big step was to introduce themes – systems within systems that let customers create a particular world or a specific situation. The company was able to increase its brand’s visibility and reach an audience that was younger. In addition the company grew its production by opening factories in South Korea, Malaysia, and Brazil.