Lego minifigures are displayed in a shop in Levallois-Perret, west of Paris, 2012.
Lego customers may one day be able to make their own bricks and mini-figures using 3-D printers.
The global toy giant is looking hard at ways to adapt to a digital economy in which toymakers are increasingly challenged by online content, mobile apps and video games, reports the Financial Times. The company believes 3-D printing may be the next frontier for customers who want to create customizable Lego figure.
“3-D printing is a fascinating development and certainly opens up a lot of new avenues,” said John Goodwin, Lego’s CFO. “We are looking very intently at it and monitoring it, looking at what potential opportunities there are for consumers.”
Lego customers can already create their own customizable figures, and the company has developed web content like the Lego Universe online game in an attempt to hold its own in new markets. While much of the toy market suffered last year, Lego expanded sales and operating profit by 10 percent last year.
Lego’s chief marketing officer, Mads Nipper, said of 3-D printing: “It could well be that it might be an exciting opportunity to print your own bricks.”
[FT]