LEGO® play has always been a joyful and imaginative building experience for both girls and boys. But while many sets that boys could identify with were developed over the decades, it took The LEGO® Group several attempts to come up with a girls range that worked.
In fact, 90% of the LEGO® customer base before 2011 was made up of boys, according to reports by the company. It’s no surprise then that The LEGO® Group chief executive officer Jørgen Vig Knudstorp announced their intention to “reach the other 50 percent of the world’s children” that year.
An animated TV series of LEGO® Friends premiered in 2014. While another series Another series titled ‘LEGO® Friends: The Power of Friendship’ aired on Netflix in 2016.
The company knew there was plenty of demand for a girls range. However, previous girls ranges weren’t successful as they focused too much on the play factor, and not enough on the LEGO® brick and its element of construction, which is what appealed as much to girls as it did to boys.
After careful market research, the toy company at last introduced a girls range that worked in 2011: LEGO® Friends. The range focused on giving girls between the ages of 5 and 8 an immersive LEGO® experience that focused on “realistic role-play, creativity, and a highly-detailed, character-based world with the core values of LEGO® building.”
“What LEGO® Friends does differently is deliver the beauty, details, accessories, real world themes and need for strong interior play that the research revealed would make all the difference for girls ages 5 and up.” – Nanna Ulrich Gudum
The range was groundbreaking in yet another sense: it introduced the curvy doll-like minifigure that LEGO® research suggested girls could identify with, focusing on five characters in particular: Andrea, Emma, Mia, Olivia and Stephanie.
These friends would adventure in their hometown of Heartlake City. Each character has her own interests and strengths such as animals, performing arts, invention and design.
LEGO® Friends came under some criticism for its seemingly limited role-play for girls to which the company responded by introducing a new range of sets for the characters offering a more diverse range of activities, including a veterinarian centre, an adventure camper and a tree house to name a few.
Even with this criticism, the overall response to LEGO® Friends exceeded the company’s expectations in its first year.
“[I]t has been amazing to experience the enthusiastic welcome, which consumers have given the new range, as well as know that we through LEGO® Friends have managed to introduce LEGO® play to millions of girls who had never received a LEGO® product before,” said LEGO® Chief Marketing Officer, Mads Nipper.
Find the amazing LEGO® Friends range at Kiddiwinks online shop or at our four stores!
What do you think about the LEGO® Friends range? Tell us in the comments below.