Case study: LEGO
The Danish firm LEGO (9,000 employees and 50 companies on six continents) has been present on the toy market for 50 years, initially with a single product specifically intended for boys, namely the building brick, which experienced difficulties: Its figure business fell in 1995, its result for the same year decreased by 50% compared to that of 1993 without forgetting its market shares which declined in all the countries in which it operates.
Indeed, for a long period, the LEGO company has not been able to maintain its technological lead against competitors like TYCO and MECCANO and has not been able to defend itself against newcomers like the American K'NEX and the Canadian RITVIK who are determined to make LEGO disappear.
In addition, LEGO distributors, which are large specialized stores, such as TOYS'R'US, WALLMART, KMART and TARGET in the United States, generally account for two-thirds of LEGO sales and exert a strong influence on the latter. pressure by imposing constraints on deadlines, prices, quality, etc.
As a result, the pressure on the launch of new products by LEGO is increasing, especially as children are increasingly glued to their computers, abandoning their other toys at the same time.
Between 1995 and 1997, LEGO accelerated the launch of new products, seeking to renew at least 30% of all of its products each year.
To do this, the company aimed at girls for the traditional product: bricks for pastel houses and launched new leisure products: video games and CD-Roms.
These innovations are reinforced by massive investments in research and development and relationships with other companies. However, on the industrial side, a reorganization led each of the five factories located in Denmark, Switzerland, Brazil, the United States and South Korea to specialize both by product and by geographic area. The cost amounted to 660 million francs in 1995.
On the personal side, the LEGO company has developed an impressive motivation plan focused on the following three points:
Improvement of working conditions by generalizing hot and cold air conditioning in all factory premises.
One free medical examination is offered per month with coverage of medication costs.
Proposition of real career prospects. Work to do :
1- Carry out the external and internal diagnosis of the LEGO company 2- What are the strategic objectives of LEGO?
3- Name other tactical or operational objectives of LEGO
4- Referring to the previous answers, present the different stages of the
planning process.