LEGO, the fun, and intuitive toy bricks have been a part of people’s lives for many years. The fascination that starts during childhood extends all the way until one already has a family of his own. It’s simple but unique kind of play has made it the most beloved toy in the world.
The LEGO Story
LEGO was conceptualized and created by a carpenter named Ole Kirk Kristiansen of Billund, Denmark. In 1932, he started building wooden toys in his workshop. The toys were sold in many stores in Denmark. Two years later, Kristiansen’s company became known as LEGO. The name is taken from the phrase leg godt, which means play well in Danish.
Over the years, LEGO’s popularity grew and not long after, its bricks and minifigures were being sold all over the world. Although the Philippines opened its first LEGO-certified shop just two years ago, Filipinos have long been big fans of the intuitive toys. It has a steadily growing following from children and the young-at-heart who use each LEGO piece to build toys and realities straight from their imagination.
LEGO’s founder dreamed of inspiring and developing “the builders of tomorrow”, and this is what the toymaker continues to do in the Philippine market with its expansion. It now has a total of six LEGO-certified stores in the country with the opening of its Centrio Mall store last Saturday, April 1.
Mindanao’s First LEGO-Certified Store
Cagayan de Oro is known as the Gateway to Northern Mindanao. It is also a booming city, with developments happening in practically every industry. This makes it an ideal location for the first LEGO-certified store in Mindanao.
A LEGO-certified store is not just any shop. It offers several unique features intended to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow with the help of creative free play and development of one’s imagination:
- Pick-a-Brick wall or PAB – a custom-built fixture filled with LEGO bricks and elements where shoppers can hand pick and select what they need to build something based on their own design and imagination.
- Fully assembled LEGO sets sure to inspire LEGO fans.
- An interactive play area in the center of the store, where children can enjoy a “hands-on, minds-on” experience with LEGO bricks.
- Exclusive LEGO sets for the creative and intuitive collector.
The store is the fifth in a series of stores set to open from Manila to Davao under the “Better With Every Brick” campaign.
Better With Every Brick With LEGO and UNICEF
“Better With Every Brick” is more than just a slogan and a hashtag (for social media). It encapsulates what LEGO’s partnership with UNICEF Philippines is all about. The company is working alongside the UN agency in building the first National Centre for Children With Disabilities at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). To support the UNICEF program, a portion of the sales at LEGO-certified stores in the country will be donated to the construction of the center. To help raise the target amount of Php10 million, LEGO will issue a check worth Php500,000.
A LEGO executive explains the company’s commitment to the project. “The LEGO brand goes beyond being one of the top global toymakers. We are a beloved builder of childhood fantasies. We aim to inspire and engage the world’s builder by injecting fun into play. This partnership with UNICEF Philippines resonates well with this dream to extend the opportunity to help more children by bringing the National Centre for Children With Disabilities to reality. And LEGO fans can pitch in this initiative of making the world “Better With Every Brick.”
LEGO Golden River Expedition
Aside from the partnership with UNICEF Philippines, LEGO also has several exciting offerings for all LEGO fans. The LEGO Golden River Expedition, the company’s first venture in CDO, has the following exciting deals for the month of April:
- For a minimum single receipt purchase of Php3,999.75 on any LEGO item/s from the LEGO-Certified store in Centrio from April 1 to 30, 2017, Php1000 of the sale proceeds will go to UNICEF Philippines for the building of the center.
- From April 1 to 9, 2017 (opening week), there will be several Gift With Purchase promos that will make you want to keep on going back for more with a minimum single receipt purchase of Php1,999.75 on any LEGO set/s from the store.
- From April 1 to 3, LEGO fans had the opportunity to start a minifigure collection through the Build A Minifigure set.
- From April 4 to 6, 2017, LEGO fans will get the chance to bring home their own LEGO Easter Chick.
- Comic fans will also love the innovative LEGO Brickheadz line that features favorite characters like Batman, Batgirl, Joker, Robin, Captain America, and Iron-Man. New character releases are expected in the coming weeks.
- Another way of supporting the National Centre for Children With Disabilities fundraising campaign is by purchasing LEGO polybags, where 100% of the proceeds (for each bag) will be donated to UNICEF Philippines. The poly bags come in four different designs priced at Php100 each. These bags are perfect for fans of LEGO Ninjago, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Friends, and the LEGO Duplo lines.
With all these special offers and its partnership with UNICEF, LEGO is definitely proving that it is the brick that keeps building.
Visit the first LEGO-certified store in Mindanao at the ground floor of Centrio Mall (across Payless). It is open from 10AM to 9PM, Monday to Sunday.
Happy Building!