Chapter lego05

READ OUT LOUDTHE STORY BEHIND

- LEGO-LEGO IS REALLY ENJOYING THE CRISIS

BEFORE YOU START….

please look into your camera and tell us slowly your name, city and country… Then you can start reading this paragraph out loud… Have fun!

In 1999, Lego operated at a loss for the first time ever. It was clear thatsomething had to change. Kjeld Kirk realized that he would not be able to lead the company through this period successfully and nominated

Poul Ploughmann as interim COO to help the company make a fresh start. Poul cleaned up the company in four years. Anything that was not profitable or was not part of the company’s core business was either

gotten rid of or sold. It soon became clear that many products and projects had been funded for years without yielding a single Danish krone. In 2005, the four Legolandparks were also sold. After all, they

were not part of the company’s core business. “It quickly became clear that we were going to be selling the Legoland parks, because we are good at making toys, but not at running theme parks. We did retain a 30%

share in the parks, however, as they are an important representative of the brand and bad management could directly influence the brand’s image.”

- END OF RECORDING-