Very retro but I loved Lego as a kid.
Lego has positively thrived during the recession, as parents revert back to longer-lasting toys. Its parent company, Lego Group, has now posted a two-thirds rise in pre-tax profits to £99.5m, boosted by a 20 per cent rise in consumer sales in the UK. Total sales rose to £469m over the first half of 2009.
Retailers of board games and other traditional toys have also seen a renaissance in demand during the downturn. Last month, Hamleys cited Barbie and Transformers, as well as Lego, as toys it expects to do well this Christmas.
Part of the appeal of Lego during a recession is its "longevity", said Marko Ilincic, the managing director of Lego UK. "Parents spend lots of money on plastic imported toys, but they only do what it says on the tin. But children take Lego to pieces, build them up again and add it to other Lego, and that gives it longevity."
