It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Brickset.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, the Amazon.com.ca, Inc. Associates Program and the Amazon EU Associates Programme, which are affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Comments
Yes I know Frozen merch is hot now, but the movie has been out on DVD/BR for a month or so already and the luster will begin to fade quickly as new movies come out and kids move on to the next big thing.
Both Disney/Lego, or at least one of them, made a mistake to not have out merchandise for the new movie. I really never did understand why they did not put out a basic Frozen set with the first wave. That really is the entire idea of merchandising a movie.
I think opportunity to do a one and done Frozen theme was 6 months ago, not now, but I would expect to a set or two at some point in the Princess theme. Perhaps the next move for LEGO is to do one-and-done themes tied in with new movies, like they do on the "boy" side with PotC, LR, Hobbit, etc.
I find it a bit sad really, that they think that girls will only be into pink houses and shopping. Any toy maker makes the effort to be imaginative for boys, but girls? Give them pink and shopping and voila.
So, we'll Lego doesn't have theme directed straight at a female audience once they are past friends, I can say that some of the Creator theme appeals to my daughter. Unfortunately, a lot of the Creator theme is aimed at boys with vehicles, fighter jets, etc, etc. But, I am glad my daughter likes the houses, as I do too. Maybe she'll move onto modulars in another 2 years :)
I will say the upcoming Jungle sets breathes some new life into Friends, and all my kids including my son are excited by those, but yes, Lego really is going to need to do a bit more here, because capturing a market is one thing, but they also need to retain and build it. New Friends sets will not be enough long term.
It's also completely against Lego's normal licensing model of theme releases coinciding with theatrical releases. Would they want to bet that frozen is the next Cars? I'm not so sure it is, nor sure that they would bet on that being the case
Seems more likely to time a theme with the sequel, and do retro sets to the first movie, like they did with IJ
In fact, if you look at the 2014 creator sets ...
30187-1 Fast Car
30189-1 Transport Plane
31013-1 Red Thunder
31014-1 Power Digger
31015-1 Emerald Express
31017-1 Sunset Speeder
31018-1 Highway Cruiser
31020-1 Twinblade Adventures
31022-1 Turbo Quad
31023-1 Yellow Racers
31024-1 Roaring Power ???
30188-1 Cute Kitten
30197-1 Snowman
31019-1 Forest Animals
31021-1 Furry Creatures
31025-1 Mountain Hut
31026-1 Bike Shop & Cafe
40108-1 Balloon Cart
I don't think the breakdown between vehicles and other sets is bad at all, remembering that vehicles (and especially small vehicle sets) sell well. And a number of those vehicles are just as playable by girls as boys - my daughter has a city helicopter that she likes flying around. I'd say that Emerald Express and Sunset Speeder as just as appealing to girls as they are boys. Sure some girls are girly girls that will only play with Barbie and ponies, but others do like cars and trains. While some boys do not play with cars, preferring animals.
CCC, I think you missed the main point, that for a person phasing out of Friends (which is what was being discussed), a line entirely created to capture the girl market because the main line-ups they were putting out were NOT capturing that market, that individual is not suddenly going to now gravitate towards a Creator vehicle... That there is not a solid follow-on plan in place by Lego to continue capturing that market. I do think, though, they are slowly starting to think that way, because even a year or two ago, we never would have gotten that Monkey or the Furry Animal set. It would have been an alligator or shark. This has really been the first year my kids have looked at any creator set, mainly because of those new animals, and I bought that Mountain hut almost immediately.
Yes, CCC, the vehicles are aimed at boys that like vehicles, and yes, girls can like vehicles, but (a) I do not think it would be incorrect to say that there are far more boys that like vehicles than girls and that (b) Lego is aiming those vehicles at boys, and hey if a few girls like them then great.
The entire point Draug was making, as a follow on to my point, was simply that as girls phase out of Friends choices can become more difficult, that for them Creator has been a place they have found options, but that the line really only offers a few choices that personally work for them... The house and animals.
As for the list of 2014 sets, I would par that down, since a number of those are Polys, or even very small (120-60) piece sets. There are 4 vehicles and 4 non-vehicles that would make reasonable length builds. 4 new sets does not give many options for the group of kids phasing out of Friends.
Now if one looks at the full Lego line-up of what they consider Creator now, well there are more options there, and if one looks at other lines there are some options, but I am not sure a piece meal approach like that is really going to keep that market buying.
She absolutely loves The Simpson's House. She and her cousin are pictured below building the Simpson's car.
I say this only as a observant realist, not as a personal attack or to be overly harsh. I also say it as someone with two girls in the LEGO age range who can relate to and agree with most of your points. I just don't expect that LEGO would or will release more sets that quite obviously cater to a minority if fans in comparison to their current offerings. But sales figures and reality are stubborn things to overcome, so I've accepted that I have to pick through the offerings to find what appeals to us and be glad that with Friends and now Princesses, the choices have increased tenfold from just a few years ago
Lego specifically put out Friends to resolve an issue. The Issue is that the were missing the girl demographic. They put out Friends. That is great. The reality, though, is that those girls will eventually either age out of Friends, and Without a next theme to move into, Lego will lose the group they fought hard to gain. In addition, unless Friends continually revamps itself into something new, then Friends will get "blah" and old, and kids that are interested will phase out of buying it. This second point is something we see yearly as Lego retires theme and puts out new themes.
The entire point I am making is absolutely unrelated to my kids. Do I see this happening with mine, though, yup. Do I see this happening with others? Yup. Do I think Jungle will be a Great way to revamp past the standard shops and horse themes they had started getting stuck on? Yup. Do I think Lego is still missing a big hole in their overall strategy on females. Yup.
As for whether one considers the above a personal attack or not is irrelevant, but I do not appreciate the perspective that it creates of hey,everyone, we can dismiss this individual, because she must be solely focused on her kids,so everything she says must be irrelevant.
Yet, the points I am making above are related to the question of Lego strategy for the entire female segment.
What is frustrating is really a doubles standard here at times.
The cool CMF elf wasn't made in sufficient quantities to be an army builder, well how bad of Lego. Can you believe that?
The female CMFs is made in quantities of 2/box, well, there goes that crazy female not happy about female minifigs. Yah, it must be because she has kids. Yes, that's it. *roll eyes*
Wow, yet another boring revamp of police and fire. I know right, how frustrating. When are we going to get something new.
Wow, yet another boring line focused on vehicles. Oh, there goes that person again complaining when so much of Lego demographic must like vehicles.
So, it is okay to be frustrated if something isn't great for an AFOL, or the lack of creativity in the City line with more police/fire. It is not okay to be frustrated if something isn't great for the female demographic, or the lack of creativity in general lines.
The one point I will agree with is that my son is NOT the norm for Lego interests. I have said that, though.
I don't fault Lego for putting out the friends and princess line, but they definitely need to put out better sets for girls and more girl minifigs. I sort of liked the Cuusoo project with the female scientists. A theme like that made of quality builds would sell well to boys even.
The Friends theme will only pull in so many girls for Lego for a certain period until they get bored with a very repetitive theme. There needs to be another theme to keep girls interested, maybe a small section of City with all girl minifigs. The main point would be to transition some girls from one very girly theme into a more Lego-like theme.
Lego would be smart to make a move similar to this. I don't know how long the large demographic of girls they are targeting will be entertained with the sets Lego is currently putting out. The audience seems very come-and-go, I think they should focus more on capturing girls that will enjoy quality construction sets based around female role models.
I think it also has a lot to do with how children are raised. I come from a family of architects and engineers. Designing and building is in our blood line and maybe that's why my daughter loves Lego so much. I'm also very much a stereotypical male. I love to play sports and lift weights, I'm always fixing and building things around the house. I have tons of Lego as well and she takes to putting things together with ease.
For better or worse LEGO is putting their girl efforts in the mini dolls. I think even if LEGO did come up with something for girls to move to after friends, it would still contain mini dolls, not minifigres
I also think it's quite likely that LEGOs research has shown that girls will generally abandon toys at an earlier age than boys. My experience has shown this to be case, and it's widely accepted that girls mature earlier than boys as well. You also have to consider that with all the success of friends, girls probably still make up a significant minority of overall sales
Saying friends is repetitive is like saying city is repetive. Of course it is when you look at it as if the same kid is getting all these sets year after year. Kids grow and move on and the next kid didn't get Olivia's house because they weren't into Lego back then so the current house is great for them. Also most kids get only a few sets, not entire themes
I hated the idea of the girl minifigure sets on Cuusoo. Still hate it, for reasons I posted way back when
I am sorry if I offended you. That wasn't my intent, nor do I want anyone to think your opinions should be dismissed. I always read what you have to write and I often find it relevant and well stated. My only point was to say that I sometimes think you have wildly unrealistic expectations. Or perhaps more like hopes
Id say overall I am incredibly "middle of the road" I do and enjoy just as many manly fixing up things around the house type stuff as I do sitting and reading a book and enjoying a cup of tea. I think of gender especially when it comes to stereotypes, very little if at all.
Unfortunately I don't see where any of this is coming from and I think people need to have a larger perspective rather than one narrow thought process.
Based off of past experience I'm guessing:
1.5k was off topic
100 was predictions of discontinuing sets and their secondary market value
Keep up the good work in here fellas ;o)
The multiple blocks were because I had a thought and couldn't edit my post.
Schoolhouse? Done in Friends.
Shops? Done in Friends.
Cars in girly colours? Done in Friends.
Zoo? Yes, would be popular with boys and girls. Although to some extent has been done in friends with all the small animal sets and the jungle sets.
That said I can't think of any other potential films that are current that would fit the bill.
There was talk about the DS and SSD just a few pages back and I commented about the IS a few posts back.
I'm looking forward to the new LEGO white passenger train this summer. How long do trains usually stay in production before they are discontinued? I'm on the fence about the #10233 Horizon Express, it is soooo orange.
The only way I'll likely buy a new freight train is if it is 25% off at least. The engine is great but the rest leaves a lot to be desired. I think the current 'city' trains have been around for about 3-4 years. I do not count the Creator expert trains in this estimation. Those can be anywhere from 1-2 years depending on how LEGO feels.