LEGO has sent over a press release of what went on over at the 2019 Nuremberg Toy Fair which started a few days ago. You can check out some of the sets that were revealed there in our previous post. Although we don’t have images of the sets yet, we’ll be seeing them at the New York Toy Fair in a few weeks.

Building on a successful business year, the LEGO GmbH is marking the start of 2019 with a range of promising new products

Nuremberg, 29 January 2019. The LEGO GmbH closed 2018 with a growth in consumer sales in the German toy market according to latest data from the NPD Group Germany. The results were revealed on the eve of the 2019 International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, where the LEGO GmbH revealed several new products that bring together diverse ways of enjoying physical and digital play and encourage shared play experiences for families. The LEGO Movie Maker set, launched to mark the imminent release of THE LEGO MOVIE 2™, is a particular highlight and allows children to use the corresponding
app to make their own films by smartphone. LEGO Technic introduces CONTROL+ as a new smart device connected way of controlling the Technic products via app and new electronic components. In 2019, the LEGO DUPLO product line will be celebrating its 50th birthday and the LEGO Star Wars™ product line turns 20 this year.

Consumer panel data from NPD Group Germany shows that the LEGO GmbH increased consumer sales in Germany by 4.8 percent1 in 2018 while the market share in Germany rose by 0.4 percentage points to 17.2 percent. These positive results are driven by core lines including LEGO Technic, LEGO DUPLO, LEGO NINJAGO, LEGO City, LEGO Star Wars™ and LEGO Friends, and the LEGO GmbH has also seen strong momentum with the Harry Potter™ and Jurassic World™ licensed themes. The classic LEGO brick boxes from the LEGO Classic product line also continue to be very popular, emphasising how important playing with LEGO bricks is to children. “We have succeeded
in our goal of driving growth in the market and we are especially pleased that we have been able to reach more children and families. After all, more time spent playing together leads to happier families, according to a current study”, said Frédéric Lehmann, Managing Director of the LEGO GmbH, at the International Toy Fair 2019 in Nuremberg, adding: “So we should all make play more of a priority.”

New products from the LEGO GmbH for 2019: building fun combined with digital experiences for the entire family

The new products from the LEGO GmbH connect building with LEGO bricks and digital play. This blending of real and virtual play worlds enables the company to meet the play needs of children growing up in today’s world. A current study shows that, unlike their parents, children do not distinguish between digital and physical play – they merge the two seamlessly into one fluid play experience. “Here at the LEGO Group, we want to help children and families to experience all aspects of everyday play. Our products facilitate playing fun that is both fresh and cross-generational,” says Rebecca Snell, Senior Marketing Director at the LEGO GmbH.

Real life, imagination and the world of digital play become one with the LEGO Movie Maker

The LEGO Movie Maker, one of 14 sets available in shops to mark the release of
THE LEGO MOVIE 2™, links physical and digital play in a way that is contemporary and
child-friendly. Children aged eight and up can join the next generation of directors and
create their very own LEGO film, using the free THE LEGO MOVIE 2™ Movie Maker app for
smartphones to make exciting, funny and action-packed films with sound and visual
effects – once they have built the film sets using LEGO bricks.

New from LEGO Technic: CONTROL+

LEGO Technic introduces CONTROL+ as a new smart device connected way of controlling the LEGO Technic products. CONTROL+ uses new electronic components and a free, linked app to give children and adults an even more authentic play experience. CONTROL+ allows realistic multi-function control plus a range of other options, including programming several simultaneous motion sequences for the models. The app also displays data feedback from the model. LEGO Technic CONTROL+ can be experienced for the first time from 1 August 2019 with the replica of the Liebherr R 9800, one of the largest excavators in the world. The LEGO Technic model consists of more than 4000
parts, seven motors and two smart hubs, and can perform several movements at the same time. “We see our new Control+ App as a platform where we in the next many years have the opportunity to develop and deliver deeper and richer LEGO Technic play experiences with the physical model at the center, and we are happy to have Liebherr as a partner on this first set, says Niels Hendrik Horsted, Marketing Director for LEGO Technic. At Liebherr the team is also excited about the new model: “The fact that the LEGO Group has developed the Liebherr R 9800 as a building set supports our motto “Exciting Technic” also in the small scale. The close focus on details and functionality of the model is really phenomenal. We are sure, that this model will not just be loved by LEGO fans but also by fans from our Industry, says Gregory Schuh, Marketing Manager for Liebherr Mining Excavators.

Celebrations for the entire family: 50 years of LEGO DUPLO and 20 years of LEGO Star Wars™

For the last 50 years, toddlers have been enjoying their first building experiences withLEGO DUPLO, often together with their parents. And that is a good thing, because a current study shows that more time spent playing together leads to happier families. The colourful LEGO DUPLO bricks are perfect for playing together, especially as they are easy for even the smallest children’s hands to hold.

Families can also experience multi-generational building and playing experiences thanks to this year’s LEGO Star Wars™ anniversary. Anyone who euphorically assembled the bricks to build the legendary LEGO Star Wars™ “Anakinʼs Podracer™” set 20 years ago can relive this unique feeling this spring with the new edition of the set – an experience that they can share with their own children. And, for even more shared play moments, the anniversary is being marked by four more legendary LEGO Star Wars™ anniversary sets – with original Minifigures including Darth Vader or Princess Leia.

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