Lego Fiber Optic

1996

In the early 2000s, LEGO was close to bankruptcy with poor management and runaway costs. An example of this was LEGO Technic Fiber Optic, which featured specialized parts with LED lights. Transparent plastic tubes were connected to a battery pack so that light showed through the plastic. According to LEGO designer Mark Stafford, »It cost LEGO more to source these parts than the whole set was being sold for – every one of these sets was a massive loss leader and no one actually knew it.«

Additional info:
www.theguardian.com – How Lego reinvented itself
Businessinsider.com – Disastrous Lego kits ruined the company.

This talk by David Robertson who was LEGO Professor of Innovation. It’s a long video, and might only appeal to innovation nerds: