Lego to open largest retail store in Shanghai

Danish toy giant Lego A/S will open its largest retail store in the world near the Shanghai Disney Resort, the company said on Tuesday.

The 1,000-square-meter store will be located on the main shopping street outside Disneyland, and will be operated by Lego.

The resort, the first Disney theme park on the Chinese mainland, is scheduled to open in mid-June.

“It will be a testament to our confidence in the China market,” said Jacob Kragh, general manager of Lego China.

Kragh was speaking during a conference call following the release of Lego’s annual report, which showed revenue surged 25 percent to 35.8 billion kroner ($5.2 billion) last year.

The company did not share the size of individual markets, but China has enjoyed what Lego called a “highly satisfactory” 34 percent growth year-on-year in 2015.

Meanwhile, CEO Joergen Vig Knudstorp told China Daily that he believes there will be opportunities for Lego to grow as China transforms into a consumption-driven economy.

While all of the 140 countries where Lego products are sold have posted double-digit growth in 2015, China has been one of the fastest-growing markets.

Knudstorp expects that China will join the United States and Germany as the top three largest markets for Lego soon.

Consulting firm Euromonitor International has forecast that by 2017, the Chinese toy market will be worth 100 billion yuan ($15.36 billion) and the Asia-pacific region will outnumber North America in sales as the world’s largest traditional toy market.

While domestic brands still dominate the market, experts said that Chinese parents are likely to spend more on foreign toys in the coming years.