Danish toy retailer Lego is betting big on physical stores despite falling demand in the wider toy market.
It plans to open 150 branded shops around the world in 2020, having opened the same amount last year.
Lego’s chief executive, Niels Christiansen, told the BBC that he “wanted people to get their hands on bricks and be a part of the brand”.
The company estimates that the global toy market shrank by 3% in 2019.
Mr Christiansen said: “Some of the changes in the retail landscape have put toy retailers under pressure… But we see the great power of people getting their hands on bricks.”
The firm, which has 570 stores worldwide, has traditionally sold its goods through third-party retailers.
Its decision to open more High Street sites comes despite a spate of retail closures.
The biggest casualty in the toy industry has been Toys R Us, which collapsed into administration in the UK in 2018.
