Toy giant Lego plans more stores in China amid global growth woes

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02:12

For most Lego fans, the colorful plastic bricks are a source of imagination – dragons, cranes and even a helicopter are all possible, if you can find a way to build it.

Six-year-old Lu Hanchen is crazy about Legos. In just a few minutes, she made three little guys out of hundreds of Lego bricks. Sometimes when her mom asks her to sleep or eat, she still wants to play with them and loses track of time.

Lu's mother Zhu Wen also bought Lu traditional toys like flying chess, but Lu seems less interested in them. Zhu said she prefer toys which will help boost the development of her child's brain, reactions and memories.

Some Chinese parents believe that as living standards improve, children need toys with better quality and higher safety. /CGTN Photo

Lego first entered China in the 1980s. Now the company has about 60 branded retail stores nationwide, and they plan to more than double that number by the end of this year. This ambitious expansion plan shows that Lego is optimistic about Chinese families' growing needs for toys.

To meet the growing demand, Lego built a factory in Jiaxing of eastern China's Zhejiang Province, in a bid to expand production.

Lego opened its new flagship store in Beijing, February 22, 2019. /CGTN photo

Paul Huang, the general manager of Lego China, told CGTN that they are doing the right thing at the right market and at the right time. China has a more and more affluent middle-class population and is now implementing a two-child policy. It is also experiencing an upgrade in people's consumption habits.