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Lego Store

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Front view of a Lego store
Lego Stores worldwide (as of 27 November 2015).

A Lego Store, sometimes referred to as a Lego Imagination Center, is a retail store operated by The Lego Group that specializes in selling only Lego products, similar to Apple Stores or Disney Stores. Many of these stores have opened across North America and Europe.

The first Lego store to open anywhere in the world was in Sydney, Australia, in 1984. Located in the Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre it was not only the first dedicated Lego retail outlet, but it also had displays including many iconic Australian items such as the Holden FJ, Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the Sydney Opera House as well as buildings from Amsterdam, dinosaurs and an English Village. Known as The LEGO Centre, Birkenhead Point, the store closed in the early 1990s.[1]

As of March 2024, Lego operates 1031 retail shops, called Lego Stores, globally in 2024 (from 664 in 2022).[2][3] Many stores have been built in large shopping malls like Mall of America and Euralille. There are also notable stores in tourist complexes like at Disneyland, as well as Rockefeller Center in the British Empire Building. The world's largest Lego store is located in Leicester Square, London.[4] The opening of each new store is celebrated with a weekend-long event in which a Master Model Builder creates, with the help of volunteers—a larger-than-life Lego statue, which is then displayed at the new store for several weeks.[5]

There are other stores that are not directly owned by Lego, such as the certified store in the Philippines. Stores in China are not listed on Lego's official website.

Concept

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The Pick a Brick wall.

The stores feature sections dedicated to various Lego product lines.

Each store also includes:

  • a wall of bricks sorted by color and shape, known as the Pick a Brick wall;
  • figurine assembly towers (similar to Mr. Potato Head);
  • interactive play areas where customers can play with bricks;
  • Lego models often themed to the location.

History

[edit]
The Lego Imagination Center at Mall of America in 2006.

In 1992, the first Lego Store opened at Mall of America, the largest shopping mall in the United States, located in Bloomington, Minnesota[6][7]. The second American store opened in October 1997 at Downtown Disney Florida at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida[7]. This store was renovated and expanded in 2011 to a size of 409 square metres (4,400 sq ft)[7]. The Downtown Disney area was renamed Disney Springs in 2015.

In January 2001, Lego opened another store called Lego Imagination Center in the Downtown Disney California complex, located between the two theme parks at the Disneyland Resort in California[8].

Numerous stores opened across the United States starting in 2008. On 25 June 2010, Lego opened a store at Rockefeller Center in the British Empire Building[9]. The first Canadian store opened on 4 July 2010 at Chinook Centre in Calgary[10].

In May 2012, the Downtown Disney California store reopened after several weeks of renovation[8]. In December 2012, Lego signed a 10-year lease for a commercial space of 7,703 square feet (716 m2) at 200 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District for a planned opening in September 2014[11][12].

The first Lego Store in France opened on 17 October 2012 in Levallois-Perret, in the So Ouest shopping mall[13]. A second opened shortly after in Euralille in December[14]. A third opened in November 2013 in the Centre Jaude 2 shopping mall in Clermont-Ferrand[15].

On 28 February 2014, a Lego Store opened at Disney Village in Marne-la-Vallée[16]. The first Quebec Lego Store opened on 7 April 2014 at Carrefour Laval shopping center[17].

On 6 April 2015, one year after opening its largest store in the world at Shanghai Joy City (in 2014), Lego announced the opening of its twentieth store at Shanghai New World City on 31 May 2015, with plans to have 80 stores[18]. On 12 May 2015, the first certified Lego store opened in the Philippines in Bonifacio Global City through a partnership with a local company founded in 2006, which is the exclusive distributor of Lego in the country[19][20]. On 25 September 2015, a store opened in Bordeaux at the Promenade Sainte-Catherine shopping area[21].

On 5 April 2016, a Lego Store opened in the newly renovated area under the canopy of Forum des Halles in Paris[22]. On 17 November 2016, the largest Lego Store in the world opened on Leicester Square in London, with a size of 9,800 square feet (910 m2)[23][24].

References

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  1. ^ "The First LEGO Store: Birkenhead Point Sydney LEGO Centre". Toltoys Kid. Australia. 30 May 2011. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  2. ^ "LEGO.com: LEGO Stores Home – All Stores". Stores.lego.com. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  3. ^ Bricksprice (14 March 2024). "LEGO's Thriving Growth in 2023". BricksPrice. bricksprice.com. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Flagship Store London Leicester Square". Lego.com. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Lego Store Grand Openings". Access Winnipeg. 21 July 2015. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  6. ^ Eileen Ogintz (September 2, 1992). "Lego Brings Imagination To Megamall". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c "LEGO Lands at Walt Disney World". kidscape.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Lisa Liddane (May 16, 2012). "Lego store reopens at Downtown Disney". Orange County Register. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  9. ^ Jen Rabulan-Bertram (June 25, 2010). "Lego Debuts New Store in Rockefeller Center". nextkidthing.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  10. ^ Mario Toneguzzi (July 4, 2010). "First Lego store in Canada to open in Chinook mall in Calgary in July". The Calgary Herald. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  11. ^ "Lego Signs Lease For Flagship At 200 Fifth Avenue, Store Will Cozy Up To Eataly". Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  12. ^ Hannah Doolin (September 26, 2014). "The LEGO flagship store is now open in the Flatiron District". timeout.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  13. ^ Céline Boff (October 17, 2012). "Pourquoi Lego lance ses propres boutiques en France". 20 minutes. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  14. ^ Pauline Drouet (December 9, 2012). "Le second Lego store de France à Euralille : le grand bonheur des fans de petites briques". La Voix du Nord. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  15. ^ Catherine Jutier (November 20, 2013). "Pourquoi Lego®Store a choisi Clermont-Ferrand". La Montagne. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  16. ^ "Lego Store s'installe à Disney Village". La République de Seine et Marne (in French). February 28, 2014.
  17. ^ Christopher Nardi (April 7, 2014). "Le Carrefour Laval accueille le premier magasin Lego". Canoe.ca. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  18. ^ China Toy & Juvenile Products Association (April 6, 2015). "LEGO opened a new store in New World City, Shanghai, China, on May 31". tjpa-china.org. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  19. ^ "Sneak peek at the first LEGO certified store in PH". rappler.com. May 10, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  20. ^ "First LEGO-certified store in PH opens". Manila Bulletin. May 12, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  21. ^ "Bordeaux: Le LEGO store de la promenade Sainte-Catherine ouvre le 25 septembre". 20 minutes. September 10, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  22. ^ Keren Lentschner (April 5, 2016). "Lego s'installe au Forum des Halles à Paris". Le Figaro. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  23. ^ Thomas Tamblyn (November 17, 2016). "World's Largest LEGO Store Opens In London's Leicester Square". Huffington Post. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  24. ^ Édouard Lamort (November 19, 2016). "Entrez dans le plus grand magasin Lego du monde". Ouest-France. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
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