As theme parks are gaining popularity in China, Lego ramps up its plan to build one of the world’s largest LEGOLAND resorts. Last week, the Danish giant was officially granted the right of construction for Shanghai LEGOLAND. It will cover an area of over 318,000 m2 and is expected to open in 2024.
The Shanghai LEGOLAND resort is estimated to cost a total of $550 million, featuring Shanghai and Jiangnan culture (Jiangnan refers to areas south of the Yangtze River).
China is one of the most important markets for Lego. In 2020, 91 out of Lego’s 134 new stores, were built in China. Lego is not only popular in major cities – 27 lower-tier cities welcomed their first Lego stores over the past year, including Kunming, Xiamen, and Ha’erbin.
Huang Guoqiang, senior vice president of Lego Group said “Lower-tier cities in China are developing rapidly; the middle-income group is growing. With more income, Chinese consumers are changing their behaviour and seeing a consumption upgrade. This creates many opportunities for Lego.” To serve the rapidly growing market, Lego has built its Asian factory and flagship stores all in China.
Lego highly values the Chinese market. According to the Lego Play Well Report 2020, 95% of parents in mainland China believe that creativity will help their children succeed in the future, and 92% think that creativity is a skill that develops through playing and training. “More Chinese parents are now embracing Lego’s idea of ‘Learning through play’. That’s why Lego is so well-received by the market”, Huang added.
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