How LEGO Brought Itself Back From the Brink
A Danish toy company stared into bankruptcy — and rebuilt itself one brick at a time.
By Mette Larsen
In 2003, LEGO was bleeding. The Danish family-owned toy maker had expanded into theme parks, video games, clothing, and a confusing array of products that strayed far from its iconic brick. Sales were collapsing. Losses ran past a million dollars a day. Bankruptcy looked inevitable.
Then came Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, a former McKinsey consultant who became CEO at just 35. His prescription was radical in its simplicity: go back to the brick.
He cut product lines by 30 percent, sold the theme parks, and re-anchored the company around its core product. He also did something almost unheard of in toy companies: he listened to adult fans. The AFOL — Adult Fans of LEGO — community was treated as a strategic partner, not a quirky subculture.
Within a decade, LEGO had overtaken Mattel to become the world's largest toy company. The story is a masterclass in the courage required to subtract.
