How Lego Rebuilt Its Brand Brick by Brick

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

In the early 2000s, Lego was on the verge of bankruptcy—overextended with too many product lines and losing relevance to video games. This episode of Building Brands with Fexingo digs into Lego's remarkable turnaround: how a return to the brick, a disciplined focus on licensing, and a willingness to listen to fans pulled the company back from the brink. We talk about the specific financial numbers—Lego was losing about $1 million a day in 2003—and how a new CEO, Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, cut SKUs by over 50%, sold off theme parks, and rebuilt the brand around a single insight: kids still…