How Lego Bricked Its Way to a Turnaround

Building Brands with Fexingo: Identity, Reputation, and Long-Term Business Equity · May 21, 2026 · 7m · transcript

In the early 2000s, Lego was bleeding money — nearly bankrupt from chasing trends like action figures and digital toys. Then it did something counterintuitive: it refocused on the humble plastic brick, cut 90% of its product line, and rebuilt its brand around creativity and system-play. This episode unpacks the 2003–2005 turnaround led by CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, the role of the classic Lego System, and how the company used user-generated innovation (the Lego Ideas platform) to stay culturally relevant. We also look at the 2014 Lego Movie phenomenon and why brand discipline beat…