LEGO toy manufacturer has achieved a record turnover and profit in 2020. Because people had to stay at home en masse to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, they turned to the plastic building blocks of the Danish company. That saw sales increase by 13 percent.

The annual turnover was DKK 43.7 billion, or 5.9 billion euros. The company recorded a profit of 9.9 billion kroner, which is almost a fifth more than in 2019.

According to LEGO, The popularity of toys increased during the pandemic among people of all ages. Before the introduction of lockdowns, the company launched sets that were mainly aimed at an adult audience, such as LEGO based on the sitcom Friends. But with the introduction of the quarantine measures, more and more attention was paid to the therapeutic effect that would emanate from Lego.

LEGO itself also points to its own digitization as the underlying cause for revenue growth. The company, largely owned by the Danish billionaire family Kristiansen, is increasingly marketing toys that combine the building blocks with, for example, computer games for children. For example, LEGO collaborates with Nintendo on sets based on Super Mario.

The increased interest in LEGO was also noticeable on the company’s site, with the number of visits doubling in one year. However, the company does not write off physical stores. Despite lockdowns, LEGO opened 134 new stores worldwide, 91 of them in China.