Legoland Shanghai announced

[larrygator]

Multiple media sources have reported this week that Merlin is expanding the Legoland brand into Shanghai. There are currently 6 Legoland parks operating and this makes four make in the works (Dubai, Korea, Japan and Shanghai)

 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/10/21/uk-merlin-ent-china-idUKKCN0SF0GK20151021

 

Merlin to open Legoland in Shanghai as part of China growth plans

LONDON | By Li-mei Hoang

 

A branch of the Legoland amusement park is to open in Shanghai under a likely $300 million (194 million pounds) joint venture investment by Britain's Merlin Entertainments Plc (MERL.L), announced during the state visit to Britain of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

 

Under a deal agreed with investment firm China Media Capital (CMC), Merlin, the world's second-biggest visitor attractions group behind Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), plans to open a Legoland branch in the Shanghai area, as well as additional brands throughout China.

 

Legoland is aimed at younger children and features rides as well as models of landmarks from around the world, made of millions of the Lego bricks whose popularity as toys has been recently boosted by the success of the Lego Movie.

 

Merlin Chief Executive Nick Varney told Reuters the Legoland park in Shanghai would be a similarly sized investment to the $300 million parks it is building in Japan, Korea and Dubai.

 

Merlin will also develop some of its existing brands, such as The Dungeons, which showcase murky historic events and scenes, for the Chinese market, as well new brands including DreamWorks Tours, Kung Fu Panda Adventures and others.

 

The Merlin announcement came during Xi's state visit to Britain, promoted as boosting business ties between the two countries and promised to involve more than 30 billion pounds worth of deals.

 

The company already operates five attractions in China including Madame Tussauds and the Chang Feng Ocean World aquarium. It had also announced plans for three further attractions to open in the next 18 months, including a smaller Legoland site.

[KBrylczyk]

Merlin will also develop some of its existing brands, such as The Dungeons, which showcase murky historic events and scenes, for the Chinese market

 

I get the strange feeling that this kind of thing won't fly at all in China. The wonderfully open and forgiving Chinese Government would certainly have something to say.

[gerstlaueringvar]

Nah this is not going to work in China. Most people know what Lego is but haven't played with any real Legos before. There are literally hundreds of knock-off brands out there that hurts just as much when you step on it. Lego's interllectual property has close to zero chance of being protected in China, at least in the next few decades.

 

Plus Chinese government and Legoland park? Really?

[Jew]

Seems like there is a thirst for all things western in China right now. I imagine if this gets built it'll be a hit.

[larrygator]

Nah this is not going to work in China. Most people know what Lego is but haven't played with any real Legos before. There are literally hundreds of knock-off brands out there that hurts just as much when you step on it. Lego's interllectual property has close to zero chance of being protected in China, at least in the next few decades.

 

Thanks or answer this question before I asked. Also intellectual property might not be protected for any of the major theme park players, but Disney and Universal movies are intellectual properties that are not commodities.

[gerstlaueringvar]

^ Yes, Legos are heavily based on their toys, that's not going to work well in China.

 

Think about it, all the knock-off brands are going to open their stores around the park.

[StealthFan]

While I'm always happy to see another Legoland open as it is a very powerful brand I just wish Merlin would stop relentlessly opening new attractions at the expense of their current ones. If I remember correctly they are trying to open 6 new attractions each year in some insane desire to be bigger than Disney. While you can respect that sort of ambition I just don't understand why you would want to do that if you end up with a weakened product over all in the end.

[KBrylczyk]

insane desire to be bigger than Disney.

 

 

Clearly the higher ups at Merlin have lost their minds.

[gerstlaueringvar]

What's the point of getting bigger than Disney? Merlin is a very good company but this seems like a dumb decision. Getting higher than Disney's quality is a goal they should go for.

[azza29]

While I'm always happy to see another Legoland open as it is a very powerful brand I just wish Merlin would stop relentlessly opening new attractions at the expense of their current ones. If I remember correctly they are trying to open 6 new attractions each year in some insane desire to be bigger than Disney. While you can respect that sort of ambition I just don't understand why you would want to do that if you end up with a weakened product over all in the end.

 

I agree with this - two Legolands I've visited in the last year had a "not quite finished" vibe, and were half-day parks at best. Merlin need to raise the quality of their existing parks first or risk diluting the brand.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Nah this is not going to work in China. Most people know what Lego is but haven't played with any real Legos before. There are literally hundreds of knock-off brands out there that hurts just as much when you step on it. Lego's interllectual property has close to zero chance of being protected in China, at least in the next few decades.

 

Thanks or answer this question before I asked. Also intellectual property might not be protected for any of the major theme park players, but Disney and Universal movies are intellectual properties that are not commodities.

 

I have heard from several people that I trust that a big part of Disney n China is to help with this issue of protecting their IPs there.