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LEGO

Lego launches bricks with Braille

Danish toymaker Lego said Thursday it was launching a new version of its iconic plastic bricks featuring Braille for the blind or visually impaired in seven countries.

Lego launches bricks with Braille
File photo: Ida Guldbæk Arentsen/Ritzau Scanpix

The bricks have the same shape as the regular ones, but the studs on top are rearranged.

“The bricks are moulded so that the studs on top reflect individual letters and numbers in the Braille alphabet while remaining fully compatible with the Lego system,” a statement from the company said.

The bricks also feature a printed version of the symbol or letter.

Lego said it wanted to encourage blind and visually impaired children to explore new ways of learning to read and write.

“With thousands of audio books and computer programs on the market today, fewer young people are learning Braille. Yet, individuals with blindness or impaired vision all over the world rely on Braille to work, study and enjoy their daily lives to the fullest,” Lego said.

The new bricks will first be sold in Brazil, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway and the United States, before being extended to another 13 countries in early 2021.

In 2019, Lego allocated 25 percent of its earnings to the Lego Foundation, which helps disadvantaged children.

READ ALSO: Danish toy giant Lego boycotts social media advertising over toxic content

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BUSINESS

Denmark’s toy giant Lego offers staff bonus after bumper year

Danish toymaker Lego, the world's largest toymaker, Denmark's Lego, said on Tuesday it will offer its 20,000 employees three extra days of holiday and a special bonus after a year of bumper revenues.

Lego is rewarding staff with a Christmas bonus and extra holiday after a strong 2022.
Lego is rewarding staff with a Christmas bonus and extra holiday after a strong 2022. File photo: Ida Guldbæk Arentsen/Ritzau Scanpix

Already popular globally, Lego has seen demand for its signature plastic bricks soar during the pandemic alongside its rapid expansion in China.

“The owner family wishes to… thank all colleagues with an extra three days off at the end of 2021,” the company said in a statement.

The unlisted family group reported a net profit of more than 6.3 billion Danish kroner (847 million euros) for the first half of 2021.

Revenues shot up 46 percent to 23 billion kroner in the same period.

It had been “an extraordinary year for the Lego Group and our colleagues have worked incredibly hard,” said the statement, which added that an unspecified special bonus would be paid to staff in April 2022.

Lego, a contraction of the Danish for “play well” (leg godt), was founded in 1932 by Kirk Kristiansen, whose family still controls the group which employs about 20,400 people in 40 countries.

READ ALSO: Lego profits tower to new heights as stores reopen

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