Lego shortage looming for Toronto independent toy stores
Posted October 3, 2014 6:39 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A popular Christmas gift is proving to be too popular and could make for some disappointed kids around the holiday season.
Boxes of Lego are flying off the shelves of toy stores in Toronto and all over the world, thanks in part to the popularity of The Lego Movie.
Unable to keep up with demand, Lego has been forced to cancel some shipments. That’s leaving retailers like Katie MacKinnon, co-owner of Toronto’s Treasure Island Toys, between a block and a hard place when it comes to their Christmas orders.
“We were called by our rep and told that they were going to cancel our October shipment, which is 20 per cent of our order for the year,” MacKinnon said.
Not all shops will be struggling to fill their shelves as Lego has only given the warning to independent stores. But that’s bad news for small shops like MacKinnon’s, which counts on the construction toy blocks to be a crucial money maker.
“Lego does make up a lot of our revenue, so it’s a sad blow for independent stores,” Treasure Island Toys’ Jasmine Formusa said.
In a statement to CityNews, Lego says that “no one has been shut off” but a “variety of measures” have been taken.
If Lego is on the wish list of one of your loved ones, there’s no need to panic just yet. More stores still have stock on their shelves, but the key is to get it before it’s gone.
