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The One Reason LEGO Has No Real Competition, And Never Will
LEGO is poised to become the most valuable toy in human history, and it actually has nothing to do with the iconic bricks…
As far as educated predictions go, this is the first one I feel very confident about: even if the LEGO brand goes bankrupt one day, its toys will live on for centuries. No, not because they’re made of plastic and plastic outlives us all, though technically that could be a reason, but it’s not the one that, I think, will make LEGO the most iconic toy of all time. It’s not because LEGO sets are great, people love them, and they’re increasingly jaw dropping in terms of designs. There are alternative brands that are on-par with the Danish toymaker’s own design, and some even surpass them at times — just take a look at Funwhole’s Steampunk World. No, set designs aren’t the reason either. The reason is no other than its humble, yet — as you’ll see — mighty LEGO minifigure.
In their current form, LEGO minifigures have made their debut in 1978, a little less than half a century ago. For comparison, the Barbie Doll was first released in 1959, just so you get an idea of what caliber of companies and toy fame we’re talking about. In 2024 The LEGO Group had a brand value of about 8 billion USD. Barbie, on the other hand, was…