LEGO beat its biggest toymaker competitors last year, capturing market share even as its largest rival, Mattel, was buoyed by the Barbie movie.

The Danish maker of the colourful toy bricks expanded its position as the world’s No 1, growing consumer sales 4 per cent in 2023 when the overall market contracted about 7 per cent, according to a statement on Tuesday (Mar 12).

Lego has invested heavily to take advantage of its strong balance sheet and billionaire owners amid the market weakness that followed the pandemic boost to retail sales.

Mattel, whose Barbie movie grossed about US$1.45 billion at the global box office, reported flat 2023 sales, while Hasbro, the world’s No 3, saw a 15 per cent decline.

“We’re taking market share from both large and small competitors,” Lego chief executive officer Niels B Christiansen said in a phone interview. That is happening “across geographies and compared with different types of competitors”, he added. “But I could highlight the US, where it’s clear we’re doing very well.”

Lego’s revenue increased 2 per cent to 65.9 billion kroner (S$12.8 billion) last year, but expenses grew faster, at 4.5 per cent, resulting in a 4.9 per cent decline in net income to 13.1 billion kroner. That was due to Lego’s investment drive, which includes higher spending on sustainability, new factories and pushes into gaming and digital toys, linked to its iconic building blocks and mini-figures.

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“We have been winning market share in the years when the market was very good, but we can also win market share when it’s not,” Christiansen said. “And the reason is mainly that our brand is very strong at the moment.”

The company, which is based in the western Denmark city of Billund, said its portfolio grew to a record 780 products in 2023, with new ones accounting for roughly half of the total. Last year, it started a partnership with Epic Games on a new Lego Fortnite series, and it also launched Lego Dreamzzz, its first home-grown theme in five years.

“We’re investing a lot, both for now and for the future, and that’s also why I have faith that we can continue to win market share,” the CEO said. “We expect the general market will be better than in 2023, but it’s difficult to say if the market will decline slightly, be flat or grow a bit.”

The company is controlled by the third and fourth generations of the billionaire Kirk Kristiansen family.

Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen has a net worth of about US$6.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg billionaires Index. His son Thomas, who has taken over more control in recent years, has US$6 billion, while his daughters Agnete and Sofie have US$6 billion and US$5.8 billion, respectively. BLOOMBERG