Trade Resources Industry Views AFOL Has Thrived and Grown Organically

AFOL Has Thrived and Grown Organically

"It is a fascinating phenomenon that I have a lot of respect for, but I would never say we created it."

The AFOL (Adult fans of LEGO) community has thrived and grown organically, rather than as a result of any action by LEGO, the toy firm has told ToyNews.

The passionate community hosts events and conferences, but LEGO is not taking the credit for the growth of the AFOL community.

LEGO CEO Jørgen Von Knudstorp told ToyNews: "I’m really in touch with the adult community. I attend conferences and get emails and phone calls from them, so I treat them with reverence because I think they are amazing. I see them as a special group and I don’t want to ‘own’ them. They are their own people in their own right and they don’t want to be controlled by us.

"Some people approach me and say ‘wow, you built such a great community. That must be one of your great achievements as a CEO’. I say no, it was there already. Hopefully we are stimulating it because we are putting great things out to them, but we are not building it. They do that.

"It is a fascinating phenomenon that I have a lot of respect for, but I would never say we created it."

LEGO has also found that despite appealing to different demographics, if it creates quality sets for its core audience of youngsters, they will also appeal to the AFOL community.

"We asked AFOLs what we do that makes them excited, and one of the things is that the better we make the product for the one and a half to 11 year old, our core target audience, the more we appeal to the adult community," added Knupstorp.

Source: http://www.toynews-online.biz/news/read/afols-don-t-want-to-be-controlled-by-us-says-lego/043668
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Afols ‘Don't Want to Be Controlled by US,‘ Says LEGO
Topics: Toys