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May 23, 2011
Philip Herlihy's Letter to LEGO
The following is part of an exchange between Philip Herlihy (a $300 house supporter) and LEGO:
Hi Kasia,
Thank you for your reply. However, I don't think you've quite understood what I was suggesting - I wasn't asking for a simple donation. The potential scope is much greater, and there could be very significant benefit for Lego, both in terms of worldwide goodwill and also commercial profit.
If a home-building system based on plastic bricks were to take off, the worldwide market would be immense. Economists have talked about the "bottom of the pyramid" as an overlooked market sector, as although margins are small, the potential volumes are vast. In these days of globalisation, manufacturing itself would be done in a low-cost environment (e.g. China) but with design, marketing and branding located in the West. What I'm suggesting is that Lego might look into this not just as a charitable venture but as a long-term source of profit, demonstrating that free enterprise can turn a dollar while bringing vast benefits to the world. Now, think ten years ahead, and imagine that the poorest people are starting to be housed with a system using plastic bricks. Now imagine that it *isn't* Lego that's behind this, but some other company. The Decca record company famously turned down the Beatles...
I realise that this is an unusual proposal to be arriving at a customer service desk. I understand your response, which is thoughtful and respectful, and makes perfect sense when the request is for a donation for a school or hospital. But what I'm suggesting has the potential for doubling and trebling the company's revenues while making the name Lego as revered as the name Carnegie has become - associated not just with business success but also with philanthropy and civilisation itself.
For this reason, I'd ask you to pass this request up your management chain far enough to reach a director with responsibility for blue-sky business planning - the people who are responsible for making sure that Lego will still be a household name in 30 years' time.
Just to clarify (as I see my original message is not part of this thread): there is a project "300house.com" as described in The Economist (http://www.economist.com/node/18618271?story_id=18618271 ) which seeks to find an affordable way to provide housing for the world's poorest people. Isn't that something Lego would like to be part of, especially if there's a dollar in it?
Best wishes,
Philip Herlihy
www.WalthamSoft.com
Hi Kasia,
Thank you for your reply. However, I don't think you've quite understood what I was suggesting - I wasn't asking for a simple donation. The potential scope is much greater, and there could be very significant benefit for Lego, both in terms of worldwide goodwill and also commercial profit.
If a home-building system based on plastic bricks were to take off, the worldwide market would be immense. Economists have talked about the "bottom of the pyramid" as an overlooked market sector, as although margins are small, the potential volumes are vast. In these days of globalisation, manufacturing itself would be done in a low-cost environment (e.g. China) but with design, marketing and branding located in the West. What I'm suggesting is that Lego might look into this not just as a charitable venture but as a long-term source of profit, demonstrating that free enterprise can turn a dollar while bringing vast benefits to the world. Now, think ten years ahead, and imagine that the poorest people are starting to be housed with a system using plastic bricks. Now imagine that it *isn't* Lego that's behind this, but some other company. The Decca record company famously turned down the Beatles...
I realise that this is an unusual proposal to be arriving at a customer service desk. I understand your response, which is thoughtful and respectful, and makes perfect sense when the request is for a donation for a school or hospital. But what I'm suggesting has the potential for doubling and trebling the company's revenues while making the name Lego as revered as the name Carnegie has become - associated not just with business success but also with philanthropy and civilisation itself.
For this reason, I'd ask you to pass this request up your management chain far enough to reach a director with responsibility for blue-sky business planning - the people who are responsible for making sure that Lego will still be a household name in 30 years' time.
Just to clarify (as I see my original message is not part of this thread): there is a project "300house.com" as described in The Economist (http://www.economist.com/
Best wishes,
Philip Herlihy
www.WalthamSoft.com
