Bad News: LEGO’s Prices Are Increasing From August
We come bearing bad news. In a statement put out by The LEGO Group (thanks, Brickset), the company has announced that it will be increasing the price of some sets. The changes in pricing will start rolling out from August this year.
It’s not a surprising move; we’re in one of the worst cost-of-living crises in history, with the price of almost everything going up. The materials and operating costs for The LEGO Group have gone up, and as is usually the case in business, that cost needs to be passed on to the consumer.
Still, for long-time fans and collectors, this news will come as a blow.
The statement from LEGO reads as follows:
“The current global economic challenges of increased raw material and operating costs are impacting many businesses.
Putting consumers first is at the heart of what we do as a company, and for some time, we have absorbed these costs to keep pricing stable. However, as these costs have continued to rapidly rise, we have taken the decision to increase the price on some of our sets. This increase will come into effect in August and September.
The increase will differ depending on the set and prices will change on around a quarter of the portfolio. On some sets we will not alter price, on others there will be a single digit increase and on larger, more complex sets the percentage increase will be higher.
We will continue to work to ensure our products offer great value and full recognise how important this is to our fans and everyone who love our products.“
Exactly what sets see a price increase and by how steeply is yet unknown. But it’s clear that the price of many existing sets will be adjusted, and new sets going forward will likely have a higher RRP. A leaker on the Legoleak subreddit suggested that the increase could be as much as 25% on some sets.
Will this change how we buy and consume LEGO going forward? If that leak is right, it may well do. It’s another blow to our bank accounts, which are already suffering. And for people feeling the pinch of the crisis the most, hobbies like LEGO are going to be the first things to go.
