The first Lego store in Israel was launched today: at 16:00, the doors of the store opened, which, as first published in Globes, is located in Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv. According to the company, in the three hours after opening, more than 5,500 people visited the store.
The store joins the 678 stores in the world and NIS 2.5 million was invested in its opening and covers an area of 240 square meters. According to the company, the store has hundreds of products that can only be found in the official Lego stores around the world.
Lego store in Dizengoff Center / Photo: Avishai Finkelstein
Lego franchisee in Israel Eran Tor, owner of Tor Gaming, has already launched several brands in the field of retail in Israel and served as CEO of the Digital Islands store group. In the future, more stores are expected to open around the country, and in 2019 Thor brought Nintendo to Israel and opened the store in the center.
The store will have not only “regular” Lego products, but also custom ones. In the future, a 3D printer will be installed in the store, through which buyers will be able to create Lego in their image. The planning and design of the store was carried out by a professional team of the company, and is one of the first stores in the world designed in the style of Lego’s future stores. The new store emphasizes the yellow color associated with the company, as well as incorporating three-dimensional sculptures and digital screens. Simultaneously with the opening of the physical store, the official Lego website in Israel was launched today.
Eran Tor, Lego franchisee / Photo: Avishai Finkelstein
“I’m proud and excited to open the store,” Thor said. “Israeli consumers have been waiting for a Lego experience like abroad and now for the first time they will be able to experience it here in Israel. The experience will also combine a huge variety of models that has never been seen before in the country and we will offer unique products that are only available in official stores around the world.
Lego store in Dizengoff Center / Photo: Avishai Finkelstein
“We believe that the Israeli consumer should not buy abroad and today there is a revolution here. Prices are competitive just like in Europe and the US, and since the store opened, the average price in the Israeli market has dropped by 35%. It is no secret that prices in Israel were among the highest in the world and we worked to change that and create a revolution. Some of our products are cheaper than Amazon. Cheap, sometimes we get more expensive but from today there is no reason to carry Lego in luggage from abroad.
A small comparison of the price of Lego Harry Potter by the owl Hedwig shows that on the company’s website in Israel the product costs NIS 189. On Amazon you can find the same product for NIS 240. But another product, the Lego Mystery Box of Hogwarts, which costs NIS 279 on the website in Israel, and will cost NIS 207 on Amazon. So probably in at least some of the products the prices in Israel are more affordable.
Dan Pilz, CEO and owner of Dizengoff Center: “Lego chose us after learning and understanding that our world of values and theirs are very similar: we both believe in sustainability, a vision of management that takes into account not only economic gains but also the environmental and social benefits of business and day-to-day operations. “Daily for years of accepting the different and the other.”