As Lego expands its global retail presence, Canada is emerging as a key building block in that strategy, according to the company’s vice-president of retail Marina Edwards.
In just the last few weeks, Lego opened three new GTA stores at the Eaton Centre, Square One in Mississauga and CF Markville in Markham, bringing its total Canadian store count to 15.
“While we do open quite a lot of stores, we don’t open three in one country that fast — so that is pretty special,” Edwards says. “We’ve got 4.6 million builders in Canada, so we know there is a lot of brand love in this market, and that’s why we wanted to open the stores in quick succession.”
The London-based finance and psychology graduate spent more than 14 years with Procter & Gamble and three with PepsiCo before joining The Lego Group nearly a decade ago.
Founded in Denmark in 1932, the colourful block-based toy brand has been part of Canadian childhoods since 1961.
After a sales slump ended a decades-long streak of double-digit growth in 2017, Lego hired Niels B. Christiansen as CEO, who pursued an aggressive brick-and-mortar expansion, initially focused on the Chinese market. That same year The Lego Group hired Edwards as its vice president and general manager for the U.K. and Ireland. She was installed as senior V-P of retail in July.
Now, Edwards oversees 225 Lego Stores in 35 countries and its online store.
“Canada is in our top 10 markets globally — it’s number eight — and it’s also a market where we’ve had fantastic growth,” she says. “In the last two years, we’ve been growing in double digits in Canada, and that’s without opening many new stores.”
The Star spoke with Edwards remotely from her home in London, England, about Canadians’ appetite for off-screen entertainment, the multi-generational appeal of colourful plastic bricks, and why Lego even needs stores in the first place.
What brought you to Lego in 2017?
I started working for Procter & Gamble in Russia as a key account manager straight out of university.
I studied finance, and my English wasn’t particularly strong at the time, so I applied for a job as an account manager, thinking it was in accounting. That’s how I ended up in sales, and I loved every minute of it. I stayed at Procter & Gamble for more than 14 years, and then I was at PepsiCo for three.
I have two boys. Both are huge Lego fans, and so is my husband. So, when I heard about the role it wasn’t even a question whether to apply. I made the transition very quickly and without hesitation.
How has the company changed since?
Since I joined, the Lego Group has almost doubled by better understanding our audiences.
Lego has always been loved by boys and girls, but especially boys. We have been expanding our portfolio so that girls can find something more geared toward them, like our Lego Friends collection, our Botanical collection and our Olivia Rodrigo partnership. They do speak to boys as well, but girls find themselves more in our products than they have before, and similarly with the adults.
The brand is resonating with adults as much as it is with the kids as they look for more activities off their screens where they’re playing and engaging their brain and their hands.
How has Lego’s retail strategy evolved?
It’s expanding.
We’ve always dreamed of having more stores, and now we’ve expanded our portfolio from a handful to 225 around the world. There’s not that many big geographies where we don’t have stores.
Why does Lego need stores?
We love our stores, and we know people do too.
We have fantastic retail partners, but there is always a role for a store because it works as a brand lighthouse. If you go to one of our stores, you’ll see how it’s not about just selling the product; it’s about bringing the brand to life.
How so?
We always talk about the three E’s: experiences, exclusives and expertise.
Experience is about building a minifigure of your own, the Pick a Brick wall where you can buy individual pieces, or the Play Zone where you can build together. It’s all about hands-on experiences.
Exclusives are the range of items you can only get in our stores, and the expertise comes from our staff who are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the product. It’s about educating people about what you can do with just a handful of bricks, where to start and how to progress. They can talk about what’s most popular, what’s an easy build, what’s more complex, and help you find something to fit your skills and experience.
Canadians love our stores; 50 per cent shop both online and in store, compared to the global average of 43 per cent and the North American average of about 46 per cent. Canadians want to touch and feel and play with the product in a store, interact with staff, and enjoy explanations and demonstrations. So, we see stores as a huge part of our model in Canada.
Is that why you’re expanding retail in Canada?
We opened three new stores in Canada in a single quarter.
While we do open quite a lot of stores, we don’t open three in one country that fast, so that is pretty special. Canada is in our top 10 markets globally — it’s number eight — and it’s also a market where we’ve had fantastic growth. In the last two years, we’ve been growing in double digits in Canada, and that’s without opening many new stores.
We had eight million visitors to our Canadian stores in 2025, and we’ve got 4.6 million builders in Canada, so we know there is a lot of brand love in this market, and that’s why we wanted to open these stores in quick succession.
How has Lego remained relevant in the digital age?
There is no question that the competition for time and attention has never been greater as people spend more time on their screens. We also know that people see Lego products as an antidote to screen time; something they enjoy doing away from their screens, and that they can do with their kids away from screens. We also know that people come into the stores to get that hands-on experience.
We do lots of research, so we know that 72 per cent of Canadian adults say play helps them explore their interests further. We also know that parents really value play with their kids; 87 per cent of Canadian parents wish they could play more as a family, and 92 per cent of parents say playing with Lego helps their kids express their creativity and explore ideas.
That’s why a brand that stands for play is so popular in Canada. It’s not just a purchase for the child; it’s a gift for the whole family.
What’s popular right now?
We have more than 500 individual items, so there really is something for everyone.
If you are a fan of reality play, there is always a new City set. If you like fantasy, there will always be new Harry Potter sets. One of our most popular franchises is Star Wars, and it is especially popular in Canada, but our botanical series is also hugely popular.
My personal favourite is the Lego PlayStation. We just released a Lego version of the original PlayStation; it’s an exact replica made of Lego bricks, and that follows a very popular Lego Game Boy.
For adults, we talk about passion points, whether that’s cars, flowers, music or sports. We really have something that serves everybody’s unique interests.
How is Lego handling more price-sensitive shoppers?
Our products span price points, and we know for some people a Lego gift will be at the top of their wish list, maybe the biggest present that a child or adult will get. We also know that it can work as a secondary or top-up present, maybe from an auntie.
We have minifigures for as low as $5.99 and lovely little builds for $10, but prices go all the way up to $1,299 for items with an incredible level of detail.
We also know that parents aren’t just buying a single product; they’re considering how many hours of play their child gets out of the box. That’s not just about the time it takes to build a product, but how much they play with it, interact with it, display it, show their friends or rebuild it.
What’s next for Lego in Canada?
We don’t just open a store and move on to the next one; now we’re focused on building the communities around those stores.
It’s so important for us to make the stores popular, successful, joyful and fun so that people come back, which requires work. So, we will focus on the stores we have just opened with this investment in the Greater Toronto Area, but there are lots of other areas in Canada where, if there are opportunities, we’ll be looking into them.
Canada is a very interesting market for us; it’s very successful and it’s growing.
We have a huge fandom for our brand in Canada, and we would love to bring more Lego joy to parents, kids and adults.
