The future of Elves

Shib

In the UK they are exclusive to Argos (although I see Sainsburys -owned by the same company- has had them on the shelves near me) so no surprise they aren’t at Smyths or Tesco

drdavewatford

It'd be fascinating to know how sales are influenced by these exclusivity deals, and what LEGO gets in return for agreeing to them.

I've previously picked up a number of Elves sets from each wave, but almost certainly won't be getting any of the new sets as Amazon aren't selling them, and I suspect I'm not alone.

pirro

We love Elves in our house. I checked with staff at a Lego Store and they confirmed that there will be 2 more sets then the series will be retired. A big shame as it it has been great. I wish they had taken a risk and made a big D2C set.  It might have helped it gain more traction and respect - like the Temple of Airjitsu did for Ninjago.

pharmjod

I'm not sure Ninjago needed the temple of airjitzu to gain traction. But it did elevate the theme to a different level. I think Ninjago city and the new Destiny Biunty set added to that. I would have enjoyed seeing what a large DTC elves set could have done. I'd also like to see a large DTC friends set. I think the hospital was a missed opportunity there. Or a huge school would be cool.

SumoLego

drdavewatford said:

It'd be fascinating to know how sales are influenced by these exclusivity deals, and what LEGO gets in return for agreeing to them.

From my understanding of how exclusivity deals in the US, the retailer will normally guarantee purchase of a portion of the production run of the set.  TRU paid a separate exclusivity fee for the Vikings line, and then pre-purchaaed the first production run.  There were further incentives for TRU if a second run was needed to meet demand.

Fizyx

pharmjod said:

I'm not sure Ninjago needed the temple of airjitzu to gain traction. But it did elevate the theme to a different level. I think Ninjago city and the new Destiny Biunty set added to that. I would have enjoyed seeing what a large DTC elves set could have done. I'd also like to see a large DTC friends set. I think the hospital was a missed opportunity there. Or a huge school would be cool.

Yeah, I think this is a really good point.  For a lot of themes that focus on smaller sets like Elves, I think it can sometimes be hard to bring all the sets together into a cohesive 'world' because there's just no really good 'center point' that grabs focus to build around.  Introducing a larger set can be super useful in terms of providing that 'anchor' to center the theme around.

I don't think this would work for every theme, by any means.  Speed Champions, for instance, doesn't really need that kind of anchor.  But Ninjago was greatly served by having those large sets, and Elves seems like it would be as well.  Heck, I wonder if the introduction of a truly large scale castle or something similar would have helped cement Nexo Knights too.

Obviously there is some consideration about production costs and sales and profits and such for large sets, but I think there is certainly an offset in that they can also help drive higher sale of OTHER sets in the line.  I think it's certainly worth considering the value of such a set as a kind of chase set, something that most people won't be able to just go out and buy, but that kids and collectors will very much want to add to their collection, and that will keep the theme in their conscious mind for much longer than it otherwise would be. 

(On the other hand, speaking for my wallet, I would be perfectly happy if LEGO did NOT increase the number of themes that have great large 'anchor' sets, since I'm already about at my limit in terms of obtaining them...)

tamamahm

It will be a bummer if this is really the end. It really has been such an amazing line and one of the strongest standouts across all Lego themes. If it goes, it really needs a strong replacement to target the same slightly older girl.... unlike DC super hero girls or Princesss , which were/are both really skewed for the younger girl.

I also would have loved a huge D2C elf set. 

Penkid11

Yeah. Consensus among most AFOLs is that you really shouldn't believe anything LEGO Store Employees say. They've said lost of funny, yet untrue stuff in the past.

Would be a shame if Elves were on its last legs. I may not be too into it, but I see why it has it's fans.

SumoLego

I always assume that LEGO franchises can always return.  I'm sure Agents will make a comeback in some form.

(Failures or underperforming 3rd-party licenses - those will never return.  SuperHero Girls...)

CCC

My daughter likes the ELves theme a lot, but I'm not that bothered if it goes. If, that is, it is replaced with a similar non-Friends minidoll-based action theme.

tamamahm

CCC said:

My daughter likes the ELves theme a lot, but I'm not that bothered if it goes. If, that is, it is replaced with a similar non-Friends minidoll-based action theme.

Especially if they make a theme of the quality of elves...
I think they really could. They have really knocked it out of the park with Elves and a number of the Friend subthemes.

CCC

Yes. In fact, I think a three year rotation like what they do with the minifigure themes such as Chima, NK, etc would work very well here, keeping Friends as essentially the equivalent to City.

Like many others, I'm still to be convinced about the future of licensed minidolls. The Disney ones seem OK but the Super Hero Girls not great.

Toc13

^My daughters are pretty much opposite. They'll play with the Disney minidolls but when it comes to sets, it's SHG all the way

LuLego

My daughter (8) happened upon a half price #41191 which she bought today in Sainsbury’s.

This is the first Elves set she has bought since the original wave - and back then she bought the whole of the first wave.
I asked her why she stopped after the first wave and she just felt that the Friends sets have been more appealing recently and, with limited funds, she chose Friends over Elves.

From an AFOL perspective, no one can deny that these sets offer the richest piece selection. As I type, I’m hovering over her building hoping there’s a few ‘spares’ at the end!

Great theme!

drlmiles1

I had a chat with a staff member in the Liverpool store today, and specifically asked about how well Elves sets had sold. They have sold consistently well, but not quite as much as the main Friends sets. If Elves is to finish, I hope that Lego can find another minidoll containing Theme that has as much broad appeal as Elves

Toc13

^That could sum up pretty much any theme. Friends is one of the top sellers

tamamahm

^ Not only that, but when one thinks of the sale of City versus a number of other sub themes, in general City most likely outperforms many. Friends is basically analogous to City for the minidolls, so that it outperforms a minidoll subtheme, I would expect. 

Aanchir

Oh, guess I haven't mentioned here, but webisodes 4 and 5 went up last month and webisodes 6 and 7 went up today:

https://youtu.be/jN8ehDDgua0

https://youtu.be/D17Eu15RR3A

https://youtu.be/W1INAHGorD0

https://youtu.be/egPCGgZ2shc

Considering that these webisodes only seem to tell disconnected bits and pieces of the story (much like last year's webisodes), I really wonder whether we might actually get a new season of Secrets of Elvendale this year to cover the big picture… what really makes things hard to predict is that a lot of the decisive news we get about LEGO Elves doesn't come until shortly before it becomes relevant. We didn't get even a glimpse of what Secrets of Elvendale would look like until a week before it aired.

Also, rumors were flying around all over the place for a long time that 2017 was going to be LEGO Elves' final year, so it's hard to really count on a LEGO store employee's forecasts being totally accurate.

pirro

Let's hope they are wrong, and Elves becomes the Ninjago of minidoll sets.

Baby_Yoda

^ Indeed. Let's not forget Ninjago was on the verge of death in 2013, but here we are five years later. I don't collect Elves but I don't want to see it die either. It looks like a really cool theme.
In optimism, the Minecraft sets down here have been exclusive to Big W for a couple of years now, but as we all know they're still (somehow) going strong. For Elves, it might just mean there's a lack of popularity in that specific region. I don't know anyone in real life who owns a Minecraft set, be they a child, AFOL or whatever, so they're clearly not doing well down here.

SeanTheCollector

All of the Elves sets are now listed as Retiring on LEGO Shop online in the UK. Time to complete your collection if you are an Elves fan!

Bumblepants

Yeah, the Treehouse has been sold out in the US for a few weeks now too. Glad I got one when I did. Will be interesting to see where minidolls go next.

f2iso100

I will truly miss Elves! Definitely some of the most beautiful and elegant builds out there. 

tamamahm

Agreed. It has also been one of the most interesting and innovative lines.

I also miss these sorts of internal theme lines Lego was so known for.

Bumblepants

Agree on missing it. The quality of the builds and set designs were excellent across the board. I'm worried my girls will move on from Lego if nothing good replaces it. At least I have all the current Elves stockpiled for one last hurrah at Christmas

Aanchir

tamamahm said:

Agreed. It has also been one of the most interesting and innovative lines.

I also miss these sorts of internal theme lines Lego was so known for.

I suspect there will be more before too long. The next "big bang" theme will probably not be until 2020 since The LEGO Movie 2 will almost certainly be getting the brunt of LEGO's marketing attention in 2019. But I would not be at all surprised to see something smaller like a new Castle theme in summer 2019.

Bumblepants said:

Agree on missing it. The quality of the builds and set designs were excellent across the board. I'm worried my girls will move on from Lego if nothing good replaces it. At least I have all the current Elves stockpiled for one last hurrah at Christmas

I'm definitely curious about what to expect as well, particularly since these sorts of more feminine design cues have been somewhat rare among LEGO themes even since Friends launched in 2012, and even more so at the higher target ages that Elves targeted.

In the very least, a lot of the Systar System related sets for The LEGO Movie 2 (particularly Sweet Mayhem's Systar Starship and the Pop-Up Party Bus) have a similar target age range to LEGO Elves and similarly fun and beautiful design cues, even pushing that design language in a more futuristic direction like I've been wanting to see for years now! But as a movie tie-in theme, that will probably not be a long term commitment, so by 2020 I'll probably be itching for something else to fill that gap.

All that said, not to get people's hopes up only to let them down later… but there was a comment in response to part 3 of the Brickset Holiday Gift Guide claiming that according to an unnamed LEGO designer source, there would still be more Elves sets coming in March 2019????? I can't help but be skeptical after how neatly this year's story arc seemed to conclude some of the theme's major ongoing story threads, but I certainly won't be disappointed if that rumor turns out to be true…

Bumblepants

Just built Song of the Wind Dragon with my daughter for her birthday. It is amazing how many cool features they packed into a $40 set. Three instruments including a harp and a pipe organ, a floating, moving platform, secret storage areas, a genius little blimp for the bat... Not to mention the attention to detail on the stone work and wood on the house and the ornate sign and roof work. 

brianoblivion

Can anyone recommend an Elves set that a 6 year old might be able to build by herself in the $30 and under range? There's a store near me that has a ton of them but i don't know the line at all..Thank you all in advance.

Bumblepants

@brianoblivion in the $30 and under range anything should be fine for a 6 year old. The only time mine ever have an issue is sometimes the Technic pins connections can be tough. They are 5 and 7 and have built pretty much all the elves sets over the last couple years.

I guess see what catches her eye and go from there. Mine both said the Turtle set even though they haven't got it yet.

MeganL

I would definitely concur on the turtle set.  It’s a lovely little build and the baby turtle included is adorable.

f2iso100

My six-year-old also initially named the turtle as her most-wanted set. That said, if you can Aira and the Song of the Wind Dragon for under $30 (Amazon Warehouse currently has one for $27.43), it is a lovely build and offers lots of play.

Jenni

@brianoblivion My 14-year-old immediately said the turtle too. We're both very sad about Elves ending.

Rovolin

I just went to my local Lego Store today and there was absolutely no Elves merchandise in the entire store (not even any key-chains). I had avoided Elves for a while, since I always sorta lumped it in with the Friends line. But after watching the Netflix show and Youtube videos, I really love it. I'm sad it's ending, but hopefully it makes a return someday. It seems like it was relatively popular.