Other LEGO® branded entities

For Merlin Entertainments – the operator of the LEGOLAND Parks and LEGOLAND Discovery Centers – the business activity started to normalise in 2022 following two years with significant negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, all attractions in Europe and the U.S were open throughout peak season, whereas restrictions continued to somewhat impact activities in Asia.

During the year, Merlin continued its pilot projects, partnerships, and investments to enable a unified LEGO brand experience across the LEGOLAND Parks and other play experiences. Further, in May 2022 LEGOLAND Korea opened, while the development of LEGOLAND Shanghai, LEGOLAND Sichuan, and LEGOLAND Shenzhen continued as planned.

With 54 million visitors in 2022 compared with 35 million in 2021, revenue was up by 54 % compared to 2021 and 17 % compared to 2019. For many attractions 2022 was a record year driven mostly by visitors spending more on average per visit. KIRKBI’s share of the total net result for Merlin was DKK 0.5 billion in 2022 which is an improvement of DKK 1.1 billion compared to 2021.

In November 2022, Merlin Entertainments announced the appointment of Scott M. O’Neil as Chief Executive Officer. His appointment follows outgoing CEO Nick Varney’s decision to retire after 23 years.

In 2022, LEGO Education initiated a new strategy with focus on growth in the United States and key international markets, as well as core subject classrooms from kindergarten through eighth grade. The year showed strong growth in both the United States and in the European markets.

LEGO Ventures was established in 2018 as the venture capital arm of the LEGO® brand investing in the future of Education and Digital Play beyond the brick. Over time, the investment strategy of LEGO Ventures transitioned from one focused on building an early-stage venture portfolio to one focusing more on later stage investments. With the move towards later stage investments, it was decided in 2022 to integrate the venture investments into the investment portfolio of KIRKBI and phase out LEGO Ventures as a stand-alone organisation.

BrainPOP was founded in 1999 by former pediatrician and immunologist Avraham Kadar, M.D., with a mission to empower children to shape the world around them and within them.

Headed by Chief Executive Officer, Scott Kirkpatrick, BrainPOP employs nearly 300 people, and with a presence in over two-thirds of U.S. school districts BrainPOP has an estimated reach of 25 million students annually, as well as an international presence. As a leading digital education brand, BrainPOP’s core products provide short, animated movies that spark children’s innate curiosity and build their knowledge and life skills.

BrainPOP was acquired by KIRKBI in October 2022. It is the first 100 % acquisition of this scale for KIRKBI and the first platform investment in Digital Learning, complementing the existing LEGO® branded entities.

In 2022, BrainPOP saw continued strong teacher and student usage as schools transitioned back to in-person learning. BrainPOP Science was launched, a new middle school science program that engages students in the practice of ‘doing science’ by gathering evidence from real-world data.

KIRKBI, through its subsidiary LEGO Juris A/S, owns the LEGO® and LEGOLAND® trademarks, which are licensed to the LEGO Group and Merlin Entertainments, respectively.

In 2022, investments in strengthening the LEGO brand continued with a contribution of DKK 300 million to the global brand campaign ‘Rebuild the World’.

LEGO House is owned by Koldingvej 2, Billund A/S, which is a subsidiary of the LEGO Foundation.

For LEGO House, 2022 was a record-breaking year with almost 290,000 guests and a world class guest satisfaction of 85 (net promoter score). During the year, LEGO House welcomed even more LEGO fans of all ages from all over the world, with 60 % of the guests coming from outside of Denmark, compared to 49 % in 2019.