![\"LEGO](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Evil-KV-1_LR-204x300.jpg\")
One wonders how much Middle-earth’s Hobbits, wizards, elves and dwarves have contributed to the success and growth of the Lego company over recent years. It has now grown bigger than Hasbro, and become the second-largest toy company in the world.<\/p>\n
The boss of Lego Group carries two business cards – one the usual kind and the other a Lego mini-figure in his likeness, complete with beard and glasses, with contact details on the back.<\/p>\n
That kind of playful thinking has helped the Danish company become the world’s second-biggest toy maker as it clicks with fast-growing Asia and builds on its popular plastic bricks with video games and theme parks.<\/p>\n
“We are seeing a society where the wealthier it becomes, the more room there is for what I call the business of play,” Chief Executive J\u00f8rgen Vig Knudstorp told Reuters in Singapore.<\/p>\n
“In that I will include the role of play in education, the role of play in theme parks and family entertainment, the role of play in adult age.”<\/p>\n
Video games are big business and Lego Group has “a major role through licensing arrangements” but the digital realm is a complement, not a replacement, for physical play, he said.<\/p>\n