LEGO to release exclusive sets in China
Posted by Huw,
LEGO has published a press release this morning about introducing STEAM courses in China and releasing a range of region-specific sets there, too.
Here's the interesting bit:
"The new sets celebrate iconic new year traditions. Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner shows a Chinese family reuniting to celebrate the lunar new year in a traditional home. Often performed during Chinese New Year, Dragon Dance is a symbol of the Chinese culture and is believed to bring good luck to people. The Dragon Dance set features a team of dragon dancers, with a minifigure dressed as a cute pig celebrating the coming Chinese New Year of the Pig.
“These sets are special. They are the first sets we’ve created to celebrate Lunar New Year and the first time we’ve made sets for a specific country or region. We hope they bring a lot of joy to children and the young at heart during new year.”
The image, complete with confidential watermarks, is from LEGO's press release.
It looks as if they will be worth tracking down, which will be a challenge for those of us in the west.
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I want these! :(
So, this explains a lot, no more China Town 2019 modular rumors :)
aren't those confidential images or haven't you found any without watermark yet?
Which means they will be stolen by Lepin or someone else, regardless of the lawsuit, and a lot of counterfeits will be sold around the world as collectors try to get a hold of them. Region specific is no fun.
@Nordbart - The images which LEGO published in their press release include confidential watermarks. Presumably they have simply forgotten to remove them.
But those aren't the first country or region specific sets, aren't they. For example the Target set Bean there, done that isn't at all available in Europe. What do they mean with country/region specific?
NOOOOOO. Now those magnificent figs will be way too expensive... I wanted them for my Chinese modular.
Hongkong here we come shopping!
Why TLG? Why?
We want them to be available here in the west. We love Oriental culture too.....
We need these for Ninjago City and other MOC's.
I hope these get released in the states, the market for these are quite big and these would sell so well. from what the pictures show they look like awesome little sets, maybe they'd be released here in time? One can hope!
First country-specific set? What's this then?
https://brickset.com/sets/2140-1/Roadside-Recovery-Van-and-Tow-Truck
Ofcourse this is a promotional set, but still...
Please please release them in Malaysia and Singapore!! As someone who celebrates Chinese New Year I would love to get this set. Plus it will look fantastic beside my Xingbao Chinese modular buildings. We need more oriental theme sets besides the usual euro/american theme in the modular and city line.
Wow there look to be some really good parts (with recolours) in there. Lego are definitely not doing this on the cheap...
So cool - I hope these go the way of the year of ... series and end up in store!
I wonder if “China” includes Taiwan... if so, I could potentially make millions on the American secondhand market :)
Boo Hisss, shame on you Lego!!!! They look so GOOD why can't everyone have the chance to get them? I can see them costing an arm and a leg on ebay later :( Looks like a must have to go with my Ninjago Temple (and I don't even collect Ninjago but they are awesome models)
As for all those p****d off about TLG's love of alienating its customers of late, it's 3..2..1..
"Lepin to the rescue!" ;-)
I wonder why TLG is so actively helping Lepin get a foothold in the West. These kinds of BS sales tactics are playing into Lepin's hands 100%. Or are the marketing geniuses at TLG really THAT stupid as to not see the connection?
In any case, for anyone interested in non-counterfeit brick sets of Chinese Architecture, I recommend the Xingbao series of Chinese buildings that look like a Modular series of sorts and are completely original designs. I've got one of them and they are very nice, plus the packaging is much more appealing than anything LEGO has ever produced.
Just google "xing bao zhong hua street".
What do they mean by "region-specific"?
Pretty sure there have been plenty of region-specific sets over the years: the Lester Union Jack-clad minifigure, the many versions of the London bus, the entire Architecture line, German football team, anything "Thanksgiving"-related or arguably "Hallowe’en"-, "Christmas"- or "Easter"-related.
They’ve also done a few Chinese "Year-of-the_____" sets.
?
I really want these, although I can see why Lego made that choice.
Lepin just lost a major copyright infringement case and was ordered to cease and decist by a Chinese court. So it looks like Lego’s strategy of moving in is paying off.
Why won’t they release these in the West as well? They realize that having such exclusive sets will give an incentive for investors to sell them at high prices for us who don’t live in China?
F***!!! I HATE when sets is available in only one area/maket! Makes it very hard to be a collector. Brand it under Ninjago and go world wide.
those are so cute! Really wish they'd make them available in the West as well!
Nice looking sets! But look out for Lepin copying them--as they always do.
AARRGH!!! It's sometimes NO FUN to have that hobby!!!! We're living in a totally connected, globalized world and TLG goes the path of "regional exclusive sets"?!? To release sets with regional and/or historic background is a very nice idea because we have different forms of culture, architecture blablabla around the world. And as the comments reflect, there are a lot of interested fans. But releasing these beauties exclusively in china??? What the hell!! THIS IS A SLAP IN THE FACE OF THE GLOBAL LEGO COMMUNITY!!! NOTHING LESS!!!
Eugh. You just know these are gonna wind up on the second hand internet market, and sell for *thousands*.
I really don't understand the idea behind "regional exclusive sets", either. From a purely financial standpoint, wouldn't you make money, on these, if you sold them in more than one location? All this is going to do is make Chinese scalpers very wealthy. Whatever.
Why China?
I can understand a timed exclusive but these look very desirable.
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/41b70b4c-a0b8-4bcb-af3d-eeadcbd51279
@Bustin
Do you really think all of this is going to stop Lepin? I would rather think the exact opposite, unfortunately.
Anyways, this will certainly help Taiwan's economy. ^_^
As has been said...... this translates to Some people in China and Asia Pacific getting a nice little set that's rare around the world, A lot of people buying lots and selling to the rest of the world for a great profit. Result. Most Lego fans hate Lego, most Lego fans have to pay more than they need to. Some people making a massive profit off Lego fans. Lego selling LESS than they would. More of the profits from the sales going outside of the Lego company. Sounds like a win, WIN, loose, loose, loose, loose to me. What goes through the minds of Marketing people??????
These are awesome.
Hopefully they get a later release for the US & Europe
The functionality of the dragon dance set seems like it could be pretty impressive.
It's a bit shame these won't be released worldwide, but I understand that sets like this might well not exist if not targeted at a specific market. In the meantime I'm sure there will be plenty of resellers offering these internationally for people who really have to have them.
Region specific simply means that these sets won't bring as much meaning to people outside of China and those traditions. It doesn't mean that no one else would appreciate these sets, but just not to the same capacity as Chinese children.
As great as these sets are and as much as I can understand why people in other parts of the world would want them, I don't understand why so many people are attacking the entire notion of region or country exclusive products. It's hardly something unique to LEGO. Plenty of toy companies, food and beverage companies, clothing companies, etc. make region-exclusive products if they see a market for them in a particular country that might not be nearly as viable in other countries. The point isn't to tick off people who live in countries that don't get those products, it's to create opportunities to release products that might not be successful enough to really justify a global release.
I mean, @AustinPowers, you've previously complained AT LENGTH about how many products you see LEGO make that (from your perspective) seem heavily weighted towards the interests and expectations of buyers in the United States, and how many products you think European buyers would like that AREN'T being made. Would you still be complaining if the themes and sets you'd prefer to see were released as European exclusives, and the ones that seem pointless to you were released as North American exclusives?
If not, then surely you can understand the idea that a product to celebrate a holiday like the Lunar New Year would be most popular and relevant in countries like China where the majority of the population celebrates those holidays. If these products had to be released worldwide, then LEGO might very easily lose money on them in countries where people who celebrate the Lunar New Year or participate in these sorts of holiday traditions are a minority.
There's no doubt that this kind of thing is frustrating for those of us who WOULD like products like these that aren't available in our countries, but we shouldn't pretend that the idea of country or region exclusive products is a fundamentally addle-brained marketing decision.
Looking forward to get some "Pretzel and Bratwurst"-sets exclusive for germany... Meh! Who needs region specific sets??? Only scalpers. Make them widespread available, Lego!
Please note the following is total snark:
I'm so sick of TLG catering to the Chinese market! With all of their exclusive sets, and they get the best prices... it, it makes me sick! I'm ready to just quick the hobby or buy counterfeit LEGO!!
Lol, anyways, on a serious note, I can see good cause for complaint on this one. Why does it seem like they put more effort into their "country or region specific" sets? - of which yes, they have had many, and no, this is not the first. Nice sales gimmick though :)
If they release this in the UK, I won't want it anymore ;-)
I do hope at least the minifigure elements do become available worldwide in some form (obviously the pig is already). All of the parts save for those appear to be available already so anyone who wants to build the architecture can build them.
This is really cool! I wonder how people in the US (normal people, not like Lego store employees, the
president, etc.) would get a hold of them, though. The Chinese Dragon set looks like it will be very
popular.
I like it and want it but like most others I probably can't obtain it for a reasonable price.
I can guess what LEGO's intentions might be to make sets like these. They're still trying to dig further into the Chinese market like many other non-toy related industries. This is to spark interest in the brand.
These look fantastic! Hopefully the second hand market is kind to us with them, I'd love to add these to Ninjago City.
Lego:racist
So much want!
I feel the same way about this as I do about San Diego Comic Con exclusives. Disappointed.
Some of the best Asian civilian designs ever! Fingers crossed for them to be available through LEGO.com...
Gaaaahhh these are exactly the kinds of sets I've wanted for years. Will there be any way to purchase them outside of China? I really need dis.
Way to go Lego! Keep supporting the scalpers. This is why you have to fight companies like Lepin. Wankers...
@AustinPowers.... I just googled that and wow, those look really nice. I would never buy Lepin since they blatantly rip off Lego designs piece for piece, but at least xingbao seems to be doing some original and very attractive stuff. Is the plastic quality similar to Lego or sort of cheap/ sub-standard feeling like Mega?
@Aanchir
Personally, I wouldn't like sets catered towards different regions, even if I got some sets exclusive to where I'm from. It just means Lego would be spread more thinly so each individual set would be of a lower quality.
Regardless, people support chinese new year globally, even if it's just a passive interest so producing the sets in lower quantities outside China would be a far more satisfying compromise. Or hell, make it a Lego store exclusive set outside of China, so long as it is directly accesible to the consumer.
It would be like only selling monuments in their country of origin- Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower etc. Ok, not quite but you get the picture.
edit: Just because other companies do it doesn't make it good. Lego generally tries to be universal in its appeal and depicting different cultures shouldn't need to be restricted to the region of those cultures in question. The Chinese buy the very western Lego city sets, for example while ninjago is intentionally a blend of cultures and very succesful worldwide.
Solution: Make it a Lego webshop exclusive, while selling it retail in China. Worldwide available, everybody happy, more earnings for Lego.
Another perplexing decision by Lego to leave money on the table. These sets would sell incredibly well on the west coast of the USA.
@kinto: about the Xingbao sets. The one I have got is of very high quality. Perhaps not 100% on par with LEGO, but certainly better than Lepin. And you can see from the manuals and the boxes that a lot of thought seems to go into these sets. The boxes for example feature partly matte surfaces, partly embossed high gloss details, a special inset for the manual, printing on the inside of the box (similar to the LEGO Technic Porsche or the Chiron), as well as a general feel of good quality, whereas Lepin for example uses very cheap looking boxes and shoddy print quality of the boxes and manuals and everything seems to be thrown together without much care.
@Aanchir: you should have gathered from my previous comments that I am opposed to exclusives in general or favoritism of certain regions over others.
I think a global toy company, especially one that sells through an online shop, should be able and willing to make their entire lineup available to every region. It's nice of them to produce region specific stuff, like this set or all the other previous "Year of the ..." sets, the Team GB or German National football team CMFs, but I don't think limiting sales to just one country or region is beneficial to anyone - except scalpers!
And sorry to burst your bubble, but the LEGO marketing department has a long history of highly stupid decisions, incompetent execution of product launches, terrible management of their website, etc. It is not as if that department was really run by professionals who know what they are doing. There are idiots in every company around the world, more in some, fewer in others. Why should TLG be the exception to the general rule?
I'd buy these. I LOVE the minifigures and there are lots of specialty pieces, especially the Asian Lattice Fence!
The article isn't clear. Are these only available to schools as part of the STEAM curriculum mentioned in the article? Or will they be available at retail too?
Although, I understand TLG's decision to make region-specific sets, I personally don't like it. I think for most people here in the west these oriental-style sets are probably less appealing than the many other sets and themes LEGO is offering (I assume, but I could be wrong).
These oriental themed sets don't really appeal to me personally, however, I would have preferred there to be a way, as someone who doesn't live in the Pacific region, to have access to these sets. Just because I don't like this kind of exclusivity. And maybe they turn out to be great and/or have a lot of parts that I like to have, who knows.
@AustinPowers: I don't think that LEGO or any big company is immune to poor decision-making, I just think it's a little absurd how many AFOLs, even those with far fewer qualifications and far less experience at generating creating monumental global successes, share the same extreme confidence that they could make better decisions than the people who have gotten LEGO to where they are now.
All the time, AFOLs trumpet doomsday prophecies about things they think will result in disaster and failure… any colorful or cartoonish theme like Power Miners, Atlantis, Ninjago, Friends, or Unikitty, any sort of media or tech product, any theme with a premise that involves conflict, any product where the availability is limited in any way whatsoever (even as a contest or sweepstakes prize where it's common sense that not everybody will be able to get one), any theme or product that's not at "minifig scale", any product that requires unconventional new parts, any change to become more environmentally friendly, any product based on an IP less than 25 years old, any move towards appealing to more diverse audiences, and so on.
Meanwhile, AFOLs are known to offer utterly boneheaded suggestions they think are guaranteed for success:
• "bring back the old monorail system"
• "bring back your most popular classic sets"
• "offer a service to produce and sell ANY retired set on demand"
• "cut costs by selling sets as bags of loose parts with no packaging"
• "sell sets designed only as souvenirs entire oceans away from the attraction they're based on"
• "retire the themes I'm tired of like City, Star Wars, Friends, and Ninjago"
• "for that matter, retire ALL licensed themes"
• "in fact, retire any theme that wasn't around in the 80s"
• "stop making/selling bricks in China (because this will HURT counterfeiters, somehow)"
• and of course "fire whichever designer created this set which falls slightly short of my ludicrously specific demands" (car snobs seem to be particularly fond of this one)
Sometimes these sorts of self-indulgent suggestions can be flat-out contradictory:
• "stop making your themes so scary and violent"
• "make a World War II theme"
• "stop making LEGO City so dangerous with all the cops and robbers"
• "give LEGO City police and crooks guns already, you cowards"
• "stop selling sets that are just glorified minifigure packs"
• "stop making me buy whole building sets just to get the minifigures I want"
• "stop dragging your themes out so long"
• "stop making so many new themes"
• "go back to making more new themes"
• "stop retiring your themes so quickly"
• "stop making your sets so repetitive and unoriginal"
• "stop making your sets so weird and different"
• "stop using so many tiny pieces to inflate piece counts"
• "stop using so many big pieces to dumb down builds"
• "stop making minifigure parts so specific and detailed"
• "stop recycling old and generic molds/prints for new characters"
• and so on…
Believe it or not, LEGO has gotten really good at seeking out and listening to consumer feedback compared to a lot of companies their size. But even in an audience of supposed "brand experts" like the AFOL community there's a lot of junk to sift through to find those nuggets of wisdom.
I really struggle to believe that these sets wouldn’t sell well outside of Asia. Millions of people in Australia celebrate Chinese New Year, and I am sure that happens throughout the word. At the very least make some available through Shop at Home, at a minimum.
Chi-Com Lego? Mao Tse Moc's? Higher Brothers Bricks?
Hope they make these subsets of Lego China kits.
;)
Some of the figs I've seen have nice printing for these new sets. I thought originally they were upcoming NinjaGo but nonetheless, very nice figs to populate NinjaGo City.
The whole concept of exclusive sets has to be viewed with a level of non-partisanship. On one hand, if exclusive sets are released in your country or area, it is good as you get to profit from the exclusivity of it, and can make a profit selling such sets to countries deprived from them. On the other hand, if sets are made exclusively in another country, one would automatically be disappointed and complain of a slant of favoritism or the like. From the perspective of the Lego group, this is a brilliant idea and a stroke of genius, as, had these been released on a broader scale, as some of you have pointed out, the sets would not have sold as well than in the places where there was a higher probability of the being bought. It all comes down to an issue of the target audience. In this case, the target audience was limited geographically. But in other cases, such as with overwatch, or the simpsons, the target audience was limited to people who appreciated those themes. Now, true, those of us who want the set, but were limited by its availability, are dismayed, but this is along the same line of the exclusive sets/minifigures released at comic-cons. It all comes down to a difference of outlook. To some degree I agree with the two vying factions here.
Since sets (or their places of release) do not line up with one's own expectations, the person who came up with the idea is automatically an unintelligent person. This view is self centered and shows a lack of character and an inability to cope with different views in one's environments.
But also, insulting people for their opinions (iriz) is not the civil way to go either. Please realize I am not aligning myself with either side. I am simply pointing out the points (good and bad ) in each view. Both present their logical parts, but it is up to YOU to decide which you put yourself with. Overall it doesn't technically matter what any one of us says, since we are (obviously) not in positions of authority to make judgement calls.
^ I fully agree with Aanchir, some of the most stupid people on the planet you find here on Brickset.
I wonder if this would work? Has anyone used Parcl before?
https://www.parcl.com
Assuming they will be sold on Lego's online store for the region.
https://www.lego.com/zh-cn
Some of the Chinese "Year of the" sets were clearly just reboxed versions of existing sets that were available elsewhere in the world, but others were just as clearly new exclusive designs. Kabaya has a flood of market-exclusive sets, and while you can argue that stuff like SDCC minifigs and Lester/Royal Guard aren't technically "sets", you certainly can't say that about the actual SDCC exclusive sets like the mini Bag-End. Regardless of what logic they have for making these region-exclusive, I have to join all the others who are calling BS on these actually being the first that were designed to be region-exclusives.
Also, I'll probably want to pick up the dragon dance, even though we can't see what the actual dragon puppet looks like.
Well that is particularly annoying
Some of the Chinese New Year sets have been available in Australia as promotional exclusives at MYER stores (i.e. spend $x, get the set)
looking forward to these sets!
Cool sets? Yes
Region Exclusive? Bad - as it will be costly for some
I can see how China has become one of LEGO's most important markets over the past few years. This is something that they would never have done even just 5 years ago. An exclusive set in China? We could simply never have thought it could be possible. But hopefully the prices will fit the current Chinese consuming level as well. Lego is still overpriced for too many people here in China.
Many people claim that collecting Lego is a hobby for them and sets like this turn them off to this hobby. Frankly, if collecting is your hobby, you should welcome rare sets like this. Part of the fun of collecting is tracking down those hard to find sets, making connections and trying to get the best deals you can. It also helps limit your collection to things that you actually want and not impulse buy. ( things I’ve learned over the years). Some of my favorite Lego are the ones I really had to track down and have great stories about them. Sure there are sets and exclusives out there that I would still like but I can work on those if I deem it absolutely necessary for my collection. I have many sets that I thought I absolutely had to have because it was there and available but now still sit in their box and I couldn’t care less about them.
Enjoy the hobby for what it is. I will continue to support it.
Wouldn‘t it be neat if the minifigs had Asian eyes?
I agree with others that it’s a real shame these sets won’t be available in other markets (in my case, the UK) as I think they have real attraction for many AFOLs.
@AustinPowers and others: Has anyone else purchased any of the Xingbao Chinese modular building sets? They look great and I’ve been considering buying one for a while. It now seems likely that Lego won’t ever offer Chinese-style buildings to European and North American markets. Are the Xingbao ones worth buying?
(Note to other Brickset users: I’d never buy a Lepin set that was copied from Lego, but I’d buy a Xingbao set if it’s something that Lego *could* offer but has obviously now decided not to).
I was comparing prices from LEGO Shop and Aliexpress. LEGO Shop, Cloud City, $400.00 CAD plus $60.00 sales tax + free shipping = $460.00 CAD. Aliexpress, sale on Sunday Nov. 11 at $124.00 + free shipping = $124.00 CAD. I understand the R&D, but... my wallet and my wife do not. BTW, I bought the BWE 42055 at $196.00 CAD 2 weeks ago on Amazon ( Canada ) Why LEGO don't have those kind of sales... mystery...
@AustinPowers @kinto @Lightbrck You obviously don't realize that Xingbao is a sister company to Lepin, same owner, only different brand name to mislead people like you. So you still support counterfeit producer.
And regarding the problem of regional exclusivity of the sets - @Aanchir and @Your future president made perfect summary of the situation: we may be disappointed by possible difficulties with purchasing such sets, that's understandable, but assuming some average AFOL will know more about global business than a successful global company is unwise at the least. It's not like the line of thinking of few AFOLs is representative for millions of customers worldwide.
BUT I WANT theses sets! Why china-exclusive? this is so stupid!
and what about chinese people living al over the world?
Totaly stupid. Lepin will copy those sets, and people all over the world will be able to buy them, even people who would have strongly prefered to buy real LEGO and not a copy, but unable to do it because of a stupid marketing decision from LEGO!
@Innos.. Thanks for the insight. Also, let me know when Lego makes entire modular Chinese villages available worldwide.
A possible reason for why these may be southeast Asia exclusives is so they can localize all of the production. Eliminating the greater world market means they don't have to ship them very far, and they won't get as many complaints over any perceived drop in quality.
But they're still way off base when they call it their first regional exclusive.
I totally agree, and believe that the production of these exclusive sets will likely contain purely Made in China bricks, plates, minifigures, Printed in China booklets, boxes. To have everything made in the region.
By all means if someone likes it, go ahead. Import it from China then. And by the way, there are also many other Made in China brands to choose from and are considerably "good quality" if you go for the import route. Welcome to the world of choice.
I definitely will take one although I’m in Australia. Ask somebody in China to buy for me.
I really don't understand all of the rage in here. So there are a couple of sets that you can't get? What is the issue?
I've just accepted that there are Con exclusive figs and sets that I will do without. I was recently a bit disappointed that the Forma models weren't offered here in Canada, but I quickly got over it and moved on with my life.
If you're a completist and need every.set.ever... then cost isn't really an issue for you, and these will be obtainable for you. If you're not a completist, then just chalk these up with all of the other sets you've passed on over the years. There are scads of other sets to choose from, no? Buy sets that are still lingering on your want list that are more readily available to you and enjoy those. /shrug
@Bustin
Lepin just lost 18 sets from 1,000 sets that their copy lego and only ip that lego own.
What a bunch of nonsense from various people who can't even remember how badly LEGO got things wrong only 10 years ago. Perhaps you haven't learnt this yet but corporations and the people working in them can make serious mistakes that were obvious to fans, and some of us have the critical thinking skills required.
In this case they are simply pandering to Chinese consumers, others companies like Blizzard have recently done the same. Blizzard made a China exclusive mount that enraged the WoW forums and they conceded pretty quickly making it globally available. At the end they still got what they wanted press stories and increased sales. That can happen to these LEGO sets too but only if enough people send LEGO angry complaints.
The posted link to the press release is now broken, but I found it here:
https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news-room/2018/november/steam-courses-for-chinese-schools/
However, this link does not include an image of the exclusive sets, just the text. Perhaps TLG did not intend for that go out yet?
^ The plot thickens...
why? does lego love feeding the ridiculous ebay reseller market
Hopefully NZ is included in TLG's version of asia pacific.
@kinto They already did - it's in your head. ;) You take any LEGO parts and start building whatever you imagine - if it's modular Chinese village - sounds great, go for it! You really don't need instructions to be able to do it. :)
'We hope they bring a lot of joy to children and the young at heart during new year, but only if you are Chinese. Everyone else you can have a joyless new year and not get these awesome toys!!!' - The LEGO Group.
@David1985: that's exactly TLG's kind of thinking.