Ole Kirk Christiansen, who started his business in Billund in Denmark in 1932, made wooden furniture and toys. His business wasn’t particularly profitable and he struggled in the beginning of the 30s. In 1934, he started to focus on toys, and changed the company’s name to LEGO. This is an abbreviation of « leg godt » which is the Danish word for « play well ».
The company expanded into other Nordic countries in the 1960s. The company also developed a smaller brick that was suitable for smaller hands, and named it DUPLO after the Latin word duplex (two-fold). This enabled children of all ages to construct more intricate models.
In the 1970s, Lego began to introduce new features to make its products stand apart from the competition. They added different faces to the miniature figures. This made the minifigures appear more realistic https://lego-x.com/2019/10/30/today-lego-fan-tomorrow-it-architect-and-vdr-provider/ and enabled them to show different expressions and emotions. The Lego Group added wheels to their bricks which allowed them to build vehicles and other machines.
The next step was to introduce dedicated themes – systems within systems which allowed users to create a specific world or scenario. The company was able to boost its brand’s recognition and draw an audience that was younger. The company also increased its production by opening factories in South Korea and Malaysia.