LEGO to open brand stores in UK airport terminals

Too bad, I only fly through Heathrow regularly. I wonder if these will be real brand stores though. There are two LEGO stores in Copenhagen airport, but they are not 'real' stores (can't use VIP card there).

Maybe 10 years ago, Newcastle Airport had a small Lego Store. I seem to remember it only sold smaller sets, so definitely not Millennium Falcon's or anything.

Do we know if these will be actual LEGO Stores (LBR) or just "LEGO Stores"... like the one in Billund Airport?

I was literally looking at this irl a week ago in Gatwick!

Be interesting to see if these are fully fledged Lego stores or franchises.

JFK, New York has a LEGO shop in Terminal 4.

Gatwick have one going in North and South Terminal!!

@Alatariel said:
"Too bad, I only fly through Heathrow regularly. I wonder if these will be real brand stores though. There are two LEGO stores in Copenhagen airport, but they are not 'real' stores (can't use VIP card there). "

Highly doubt it, airport stores are usually franchises licensed to one company that runs all of them. It's why the whole bottled water racket is still going, because there's no genuine competition between stores. In the UK anyway.

I visited the JFK LEGO store a few months back on my way through and was very disappointed. The sets were priced over RRP and the selection was limited. There was nothing that I saw that would be an attraction for AFOLS. Clearly, the intended market for that location was parents buying for their children to keep them busy during flights (and insert one of the horror stories in the comments above…!), or adults visiting family who need a last minute gift.

(Admittedly, COVID restrictions may have been in place, thus prohibiting things like BAM, PAB, or other exciting features…)

For what it’s worth, I’ve also seen LEGO vending machines in airports (at Chicago, I think), with small selections of current sets.

Summer holidays this year or next?

When do UK children generally get off from school in the summer? Depending on where you live in the US it varies, but it's either mid May to mid August (ugh) or the much more reasonable mid June to early September.

@GBP_Chris said:
" @Maxximus said:
"LOL! Just imagine a parent telling child on the plane, 'Play with your Lego set' to pass the time. Child rips open box, paper bags tearing, pieces skittle off the tray. Child whines, 'I dropped a piece.' Parent shuffling in seat to try and find it unsuccessfully. Parent declares failure. Child disappointed for the rest of the flight. Then trying to find the lost piece(s) between landing and disembark. And ultimately, after being abandoned, numerous passengers and flight attendants stepping on errant bricks. "

Horror story time!

When I was a wee lad on an international flight, my parents gave me a small Lego set to pass the time - after quickly checking I found it was 7242 Street Sweeper. A fun little set, but as to be expected, I lost the minifigure, the shovel, and the broom not even 30 minutes into the flight. I searched all over the seat, but also tried to be a bit discreet so my parents wouldn't see their son giving into the self-fulfilled prophecy and write him off as a failure. Sadly, I never found the minifig or the tools.

So if you want a free "CTY0016: Construction Worker - Orange Zipper, Safety Stripes, Orange Arms, Blue Legs, Red Construction Helmet, Stubble", book a flight from Amsterdam to Johannesburg. You may get lucky."

To counteract this story, my parents bought me 1599 on a flight to Corfu. I built it on the seat back tray table and didn't lose a single piece. I must have been about 4 at the time and the set remained throughout my childhood as one of my favourite sets, despite its very basic assembly. Even today, my parents have a small box of my old LEGO for when kids visit and I still recognize some of the pieces there that make up this set (I think one brick still has the 'Britannia' sticker).

My dad used to bring back LEGO sets when he travelled for work to Scandinavia (mostly Norway but I think also Denmark). So certainly in the early 90s airports there had LEGO on sale.

With the air miles he got from flying with SAS regularly we went to Denmark and visited Legoland. Happy times :)

LEGO on a plane though sounds like a bad idea. Far too much potential for lost pieces.

Perfect for a summer and cancelled and delayed flights! At least there'll be one shop I might go and look at now!

@Zoniax said:
"Summer holidays this year or next?

When do UK children generally get off from school in the summer? Depending on where you live in the US it varies, but it's either mid May to mid August (ugh) or the much more reasonable mid June to early September. "

Most of England it's late July to early September. Scotland (and for some reason Leicester in England) is usually 3 weeks earlier, so start of July to mid August (it's 6 or occasionally 7 weeks).

There's one at Stansted. ??

It's already open

I'm confussed. so they are closing the nearest store to me (in the UK) to open 2 at airports in duty free area?

The dilemma of trying to find all the collectible minifigures before your flight departs...

Also quite a ballsy move opening right next to Hamleys!

@neddam20 said:
"I'm confussed. so they are closing the nearest store to me (in the UK) to open 2 at airports in duty free area?"

You referring to Watford store closing?

@Pastatwirls said:
" @neddam20 said:
"I'm confussed. so they are closing the nearest store to me (in the UK) to open 2 at airports in duty free area?"

You referring to Watford store closing? "

yes so local to me : (

They have a few LEGO stores at some airports in Australia. No clue who runs them though (I do know they aren't official LEGO stores run by LEGO though). Also no clue about pricing or whether they sell anything big.

@historynut said:
"There's one at Stansted. ??

It's already open "

I think it's more like there are some small sets you could get from the existing toy stores. I've used them to buy gifts like the small red bus and that is pretty much the price range.

Lego has always being available in the Duty Free, Hamleys or similar Toy Shop where no UK 20% VAT is payable when traveling outside of UK (i.e. non-domestic). Generally found choice very limited though and at original retail price, so 20% off may not be the current best price available. When abroad, compared to out of town malls airport shops tend to have inflated prices to cover the high rents, rich clientele etc. Even so I could see the attraction of 20% off a Star Wars UCS if available, when returning from my destination airport if the full price is the same as the downtown Lego store.

@ambr said:
"Even so I could see the attraction of 20% off"
It would be 16.66% off, not 20%. Adding VAT adds 20%, but you then take 16.66% (i.e. 20% / 120%) off to remove the VAT. Which, as you suggest, is probably worse than a discounted price elsewhere.