 Hello everyone and welcome to the latest edition of Pitch Brand Talk. I have with me today a brand which is one of the world's most iconic and creative brand, which aims to unite people through imaginative play, unlock children's full potential and make everyone's life extra fun. You must have guessed the brand name now just through this description. It's the LEGO Group and I have with me today the Country Manager of the LEGO Group for India Bhavna Mendon. Bhavna, welcome. Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure. Bhavna, I just firstly congratulations on your new role. You've recently taken over as a country head for LEGO India. So what are the top three things that you have on your to-do list? Yeah, so I think, you know, one as a representative of the brand, it is definitely about fostering LEGO love with kids, of course, across the country, and then their parents who are the shoppers, and then the adults who love to build and play as well. So that would be primary task. The second priority, I would think, is going to be about driving brand experiences, you know, the depth of brand experiences. I think our brand is all about touch, feel, see. So the format in which we can welcome children to experience the breaks and learn to play with them, and the parents as well, is going to be the second priority. The third one, I think, is going to be about strengthening our presence across the country. So driving the width of distribution, which means, you know, we want to definitely reach out to more geographies, more formats, more outlets, more doors. Those are the three primarily. Okay, let's just take a step back. You know, LEGO entered India in 2020, and you were among the first people to join in India, the LEGO team. So how is the key journey been since 2020? Any highlights you'd like to share? Yeah, I think it's been quite a steep curve when it comes to what we learned right from 2020 in terms of, you know, what matters? What are the, what is the awareness that we really want to create? Who is a target audience? And you know, how can it is the most tricky audience when it comes to kids? Their minds change from second to second, right? So how do we move the kids with the right kind of products? What do we need to do to crack the code with parents? You know, who are the key gatekeepers when it comes to children? What is the environment like, the trade environment in the country like, where you have a multitude of formats that you're sort of dealing with, right, online, online, offline, etc. And then who could be our partners, you know, in terms of our media partners, in terms of parenting platforms, in terms of the other digital platforms, etc, which could help us expand and reach out to more parents and more children, and also share the same ethos as us as a brand has been quite a journey. And of course, you know, we started off in 2020, which was the COVID year. So from there to then opening up, you know, the outlets and the bricks to children, it's been quite a curve. Let's come to your new campaign, Small Hands Big Dreams. What was the insight behind this campaign? Yeah. So, you know, the insight, basically, if I have to say this, play as a concept I believe is very often misunderstood and highly undervalued, you know, hence parents, I believe, typically categorized play as a frivolous activity, you know, one that doesn't really add any value to the children and they don't see it having any sort of developmental effect when it comes to kids, except maybe physical ones, you know. And if I look at most of the research that we have seen and most of the studies that we undertake, we have seen that play has a very important impact on the lives of children, you know. It impacts their physical, their emotional, their mental well-being, of course, also lending a lot of developmental skills to them, which could be around critical thinking, which could be around problem solving, communication, creativity and all of that, all of which I believe is absolutely essential for children to thrive in the 21st century, you know. That's what we see at work. That's what we see in life, you know, that those are the skills that actually hold the adults in good stead, you know, the ones that they have sort of honed in their childhood. So, the whole idea of Small Hands Big Dreams was to actually convert these studies and bring them together into a format that is palatable to parents, you know, they understand what play means and they can then essentially indulge their kids with playful parenting. That is the essence. And then it's, think of it as a platform where we are sort of bringing in like-minded parents, which essentially means real parents with their real stories of what their challenges are and, you know, how they have sort of circumvented them and bringing them to another set of parents. We also have key opinion leaders there who could be artists, who could be doctors, educators, child psychologists, who then also help us highlight the importance of play in developing the skills for children and developing those strong familial bonds. You meet any parent and he would creep about the vast and the murky digital world that surrounds the children today. And it's also about, you know, advice that is actionable coming out of our program to parents on how they can actually, you know, navigate around this digital world and still, you know, create value for themselves and for their children there. So, that is the whole idea of, you know, the Small Hands Big Dreams program. And what are the media channels that you will be using to spread the communication? Yeah. So, for, you know, when it comes to Small Hands Big Dreams, we definitely depend a lot on parenting platforms because it is something where as a concept, you know, the program is for the parents by the parents to the parents. So, we definitely want to sort of depend on a lot of parenting platforms for that. Otherwise, if you look at our communication, I think it's quite varied depending on the audience that we are sort of talking to. So, when we talk to kids, we as a brand are very, very mindful of what the kids are taking away, you know, and they are, we are very mindful of the fact that they're navigating their way through a very, you know, digitally unsafe world. And so, we typically take care of digital safety by operating in a very conservative environment which is created by the totally awesome network for us, you know. We also depend a lot on our own ecosystem, which is the Lego Life App and Lego.com. When it comes to adults, we typically reach out to them where they are. So, it could be sports channels, it could be auto channels, you know, and the like. When it comes to parents, like I said, you know, we would depend on parenting platforms, we would depend on a little bit of Instagram, a little bit of YouTube and Google. We typically do not advertise in the standard way that advertising is done. But to bring our products close to parents and children, we depend a little bit on digital, a little bit on print, and a little bit on, you know, television from time to time. However, I think, you know, the crux of our program or the crux of our communication, let me say, is about creating experiences. So, we definitely depend a lot on BTL experiences that we can create for children from time to time, whether it is in store or it is outside. And that is our primary way of communicating. What is the proposition and positioning that you are adopting in the Indian market? So, you know, we have the brand is in a very lovely space, which is where I would say that typically we as a brand take a lot of pride in the fact that we actually appeal to children through the way that they understand, you know. We have recognized that children are very unique in the sense of what they like and what they dislike. Some children may love cars and some may love castles and, you know, some may be immensely passionate about animals and some may love the world of ninjas and princesses and the others love space and engineering. Now, you know, there is a certain type that could appeal to one such child and not really work for the others. But Lego as a brand has a license to win when it comes to all of these passions and hence we actually utilize the passion point route to reach out to children, which essentially means that once you own a Lego set, you can actually convert it from a ninja set to a car to a, you know, magical castle to whatever it is that you want to build. So, we typically tell them that this is a set and you can actually use to create whatever it is that you love and hence our primary positioning to them is build what you love. But, you know, when you look at your price point, you're slightly at the premium segment. So, is that your core TG that you're looking to target? So, you know, we have made a lot of strategic efforts to launch Lego sets in India, which are now starting at 449 INR as well. And we have actually made a lot of effort, you know, to bring a significant chunk of a sets where we do see that Indian parents and kids can, you know, find the optimum value and so we do have 150 plus sets, I think, in our assortment, which is like one-third of our assortment then, which is priced below 2000, you know. We also depend a lot on conveying the message of repeatability. And, you know, that is often not understood by the parents who are picking the sets off the shelves. That is that a Lego set is essentially forever, you know, the first Lego bricks that were created in the 1930s still can fit into any Lego set that is produced today. So, Lego play is not restrictive, you know, you can actually just about combine any set with the other and create anything that you want to. So, the repeatability, you know, the whole concept of build, unbuild and rebuild allows you to actually play with the same toy, if I may say so, again and again and again. And that is where you get maximum value out of what you have purchased. You know, you mentioned India and, you know, you have a lot of collaborations, particularly internationally with a lot of other brands. So, are you looking at, you know, brand collaborations with Indian brands or even with international brands specifically for the local market? Yeah. So, you know, a lot of brands that operate in India are are the are the brands that are actually present universally today, right? And children and parents alike have access to all of these. So, yes, we definitely look at collaborations year on year, every year. And we keep newing some of those, we keep adding to that fleet of collapse that we have. A lot of these are global tie ups, which then, you know, trickle down to various countries, wherever it is that we find the relevance to the Indian audience, we definitely look at those tie ups. And yes, there are certain, you know, tie ups in terms of partnerships that we are looking at for India this year as well. I will not be able to talk more and divulge at this point in time, but I can only promise that it's going to be a very exciting year in terms of, you know, the partnerships that you will see the Lego brand undertake in 2024. A recent report stated that the size of the Indian toy market was US dollars 1.7 billion in 2023. And this is expected to reach a US dollars 4.4 billion by 2032. So, what is the opportunity for Lego in this space? How are you going to capture market share in a highly fragmented and unorganized market? Yeah. So, you know, it's a it's a huge opportunity. And I do not like really look at it only from the point of view of revenues and numbers. I definitely feel that India is the largest population in the world. And what is interesting is the fact that India also has the largest number of kids in the world. And from a point of view of addressability also, I definitely believe that we can address a huge chunk of these children. And, you know, that is that is from the point of view of business that it becomes a very exciting market then. From the point of view of the timing, you know, I believe that it's a it's it's a very interesting time that we are sort of living in where children and parents alike have exposure and access to just about everything across the globe, which actually makes them quite inclined towards understanding who we are and you know, helps us in sort of taking those strides with them, where the exposure and access already exists. I also believe that, you know, as a brand, we essentially want to take Lego play to just about everybody, which means across age groups across genders across, you know, economic classes. And so we have different programs that we are sort of bringing together in this year to address children of different kinds, adults of different kinds, you know, with different passion points throughout the course of the year. So I only believe that it's a massive, massive potential that the country has at this point in time. What is great is the fact that the government of India, you know, is also looking at building these builders of tomorrow and a lot of their programs, starting from the new education policy to, you know, everything that they talk about in their communication about children and parents is very, very progressive. So we definitely want to, you know, work on some of those initiatives which bring us closer together and allow us to sort of, you know, participate in some of those programs. It's going to be an exciting year, like I said before, 2024 in terms of what we can do and we will still be scraping the surface, I believe. And can you also share insights on your distribution plans, the focus on online and offline, because offline is very important, as you mentioned, touch and feel. Yeah. So I think, you know, again, from the point of view of how the shopper shops, right, it is, they are not guided by formats anymore. And hence, it is essential for us to be just present wherever the shopper is shopping. So we have a healthy, I think, channel mix where we are present online as well as offline. And we try to, as a brand, leverage the strengths of each of these channels in their own unique ways, where, you know, online gives us access to markets wide and far and allows us to, you know, really experiment with a lot of new sets with a lot of price points and all of that. Offline gives us a lot of space to actually allow the children to come experiment experience, you know. And hence, we are, you know, trying to keep it at a very balanced mix where we can reach out to audiences through the online and the offline format of being your next door store or be the toy specialists, you know, that we sort of work with. Just taking this a little forward, Lego is about experience, like you said, you know, whether it's Legoland or Lego exclusive concept stores. So please, let's leave aside Legoland, but when can we see, please say the Lego concept store in India? Yeah, I can see the excitement in your voice, you know, when we talk about the Lego concept stores, it's something that we have been working towards. And I can only say that very soon is going to be my answer to this one is, you know, when you will see the Lego stores in India as well, we are working towards it as a team, and we are extremely excited about what we are sort of preparing for. So yeah, it will be in the markets for all to see. And also, since you started since 2020, can you give us a sense of the growth that you see in this market? Yeah. So I think, you know, the market has only blossomed, be it the local market, you know, with the local toys, given the, you know, making India initiative, which has been great. I also believe the, you know, the branded toys have been able to, you know, find ways and means of staying relevant despite COVID and, you know, creating newer avenues for children to play with, which is why the market, the total pie of the market has sort of expanded. And we have definitely benefited from that expansion as well. Our growth last year has been phenomenal. And, you know, year on year, we definitely see strong growth last year, we grew with 100% plus. And I think, you know, given the small basis that we were at, we are only, like I said, scratching the surface yet. So we definitely want to make it big year on year, from year on. Havna, we can expect to see Indian brand collaborations. We can expect to see Lego concepts stores. What else can we expect from Lego into a looking ahead? Yeah, I think, you know, 2024, we always try to make it bigger than, you know, the previous year. And 2024 is definitely going to be bigger, better older in terms of play for the organization. We are quite excited about a portfolio this year. It is going to be the largest ever portfolio that we brought to India. So, you know, we'll have close to 600 active sets where we have 300 plus new launches, which means a lot of new passion points, a lot of new themes that will be coming in for kids. What I'm also very excited about is the fact that we are also bringing in a whole new assortment for our adults, you know, and we definitely believe that they are the ones who need to really calm down and enjoy and unwind. And this is the one product which gives them that space to mindfully focus, you know, building is meditative, like I have discovered. So I definitely feel that that is something that we are very excited about. I also feel that, you know, we are very excited about some of our new campaigns. So one that I can talk about is one of our Maki campaigns this year, which is going to be around the concept of space. And why I'm so excited about it is because definitely, you know, we as a brand over the last few years have brought in some of our biggest bestsellers here. So I know what's coming up in 2024 in terms of the space theme sets. But what makes it even more exciting is the fact that the timing is so right. You know, we are, as Indians, so excited, so proud of the achievements that ISRO has made in this space in the last few years and has sort of led to a really mission of, you know, that love for space in the children. So we definitely want to explore that facet of space where children can learn a lot about rovers and space labs and cargo jets and, you know, space science as such and imagine their own versions of space there. So that is something that I'm very, very excited about. I think some of our homegrown IP, our homegrown IP in Ninjago that we launched last year is only going to become bigger and, you know, grander in this year. We are definitely looking at making our campaign of small hands, big dreams, you know, again stronger with more parents, more children becoming a part of it. We are definitely looking at greater partnerships, you know, enhanced partnerships in 2024. So all in all, whether it is product, whether it is, you know, distribution, whether it is partnerships, there's a lot of work and there's a lot of excitement with the tiny nervousness also that comes with it happening with us. And that's what 24 is going to be about. You know, one thing which really fascinated me, what you said in the beginning was that, you know, a block, a Lego block made in the 1930s still would fit into a Lego block made in 2024, despite so many iterations happening. So finally, I just want to ask you what you just say is a secret behind Lego's continued relevance, generation on generations, parents who have played with Lego continuing to carry on the tradition of not just playing by playing it with them by themselves, but also with their kids. So what's the secret sauce for Lego's success as a brand? Yeah, I think, you know, the whole idea that it's not a toy, it's basically a system in play is what makes it very, very unique. That is essentially something which lends it the relevance and the resonance with every generation year on year. We typically, like I said, talk of passions and that means that you're not force fitting child to play with what you have, but you're actually trying to understand what is it that appeals to the child and gets him excited and brings that gleam in his eyes and gets him to play. And you help him create that because you're simply giving him a set of bricks, which he's or she's putting together to build a car or to build a castle, whatever it is that they love. And that whole idea of allowing them to explore their own passions and role playing and creating their own story with the bricks that they have and the whole idea of handing over to them, not just a few bricks, but an entire system in play, makes it, you know, absolutely timeless in that sense. Thank you so much, Bhavna, for your time and really looking forward to seeing what all has Lego got in store for India in the year ahead and in the future. Thank you again for your time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thanks.