Buh-bye Barbie. Hello Lego! 
 
 Danish toy manufacturer Lego Group has taken the title of the biggest toymaker in the world in terms of revenue and profit. The popular Lego movie helped propel sales 11% higher in the first six months of the year. 
 
 "We are thrilled by the reception of the Lego Movie products," said Lego Group CFO John Goodwin. Sales across Europe, the Americas and Asia increased by double digits compared to the same period in the previous year. 
 
 The family-owned business surpassed top competitor, Mattel (MAT), which is struggling with slumping global sales and slower demand for Barbie dolls and Fisher-Price toys. 
 
 Lego also trounced Hasbro (HAS) sales -- reporting revenue that was more than 30% higher than the board-game giant. 
 
 The Lego Movie, which was released in February by CNNMoney's parent company, Time Warner (TWX), made $69 million in its opening weekend and has grossed nearly $260 million so far, according to Box Office Mojo. 
 
 Popular Lego sets have been snapped up like hot cakes over the past few months, including a highly-celebrated new set featuring female scientists. The new toy launched in early August and sold out on Lego's website over the course of a weekend. 
 
 Now Lego executives are hoping the business momentum will last into the all-important second half of the year. 
 
 "The majority of Lego sales ... [happen] in a short time-span of a few weeks leading up to the holiday season," said Goodwin. "It remains to be seen how the line will continue to develop behind the highly anticipated launch of the Lego Movie on DVD in the second half of 2014." 
 
 Lego toys have become so popular they've even attracted the attention of big-time criminals. This summer, police departments across the U.S. reported breaking up various Lego theft schemes involving over $300,000 in toys. 
 
 Lego Group, which has roughly 12,000 employees, is still owned by the Kirk Kristiansen family that founded it in 1932. 
 
 Related: LEGO cashes in on sexism critiques 
 
 Watch: Inside the LEGO hysteria ||||| Image copyright Reuters 
 
 Toymaker Lego is cutting 1,400 jobs worldwide in the face of falling sales and profits. 
 
 The figure is 8% of the Danish company's 18,200-strong workforce, but it is not clear where the jobs will go. 
 
 Lego said in its half-year results that revenue fell 5% to 14.9bn Danish krone (£1.8bn, $1.3bn), with profits down 3% to 4.4bn krone. 
 
 The company said it needed to make the job cuts as its business had become too complex and needed a "reset". 
 
 Lego chairman Jorgen Vig Knudstorp said the group had become an "increasingly complex organisation" following double-digit global growth in the past five years. 
 
 However, that meant it had "added complexity into the organisation which now in turn makes it harder for us to grow further". 
 
 Brick heart 
 
 The company has been increasing sales in new markets, particularly in Asia. 
 
 Lego told the BBC: "In the US and Europe, our sales have declined although we are working hard with our partners to regain momentum." 
 
 Lego said there was double-digit growth in China where there was still "massive upside potential". 
 
 Mr Vig Knudstorp said: "We are disappointed by the decline in revenue in our established markets, and we have taken steps to address this." 
 
 It has also been diversifying in recent years, most strikingly into a series of Lego movies, the latest being Batman movies depicted by Lego figures. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Lego chairman Jorgen Vig Knudstorp said the firm had become 'increasingly complex' 
 
 Mr Knudstorp hinted the company would be concentrating harder on the brick kits, but without going entirely back to basics: "The brick is the heart of our business and children of all ages love it. 
 
 "We will find more opportunities to engage with kids and parents including innovative ways to blend physical building and digital experiences, such as our successful Lego Life social platform." 
 
 Last month Lego said Niels Christiansen, a Dane, would replace Briton Bali Padda as chief executive. He had been in the post for just eight months. 
 
 Lego has become the world's biggest toymaker by sales, beating Play-Doh maker Hasbro and Barbie giant Mattel, whose sales are around £1.4bn. 
 
 The company said the jobs would go by the end of this year but there would be redundancy packages and other support. 
 
 Mr Knudstorp said: "We are very sorry to make changes which may interfere with the lives of many of our colleagues. Unfortunately, it is essential for us to make these tough decisions." ||||| COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Danish toy maker Lego says revenue soared 11 percent in the first six months of 2014, mostly because of the success of the "Lego Movie." 
 
 The privately owned company's chief financial officer said Thursday they were thrilled by the success. 
 
 John Goodwin said: "Lego Movie products provided a significant boost to our sales during the first half of 2014." He said that support could continue in the second half of the year, when Lego Movie will be launched on DVD. 
 
 Net profit in the period was up 14 percent compared with the first half of 2013, at 2.7 billion kroner ($480 million), on sales of 11.5 billion kroner. 
 
 Lego, which is not publicly listed, releases only half-year figures. ||||| Innovative products and more effective marketing will be priorities for toymaker Lego this year, after it published poor 2017 results on Tuesday. 
 
 The toy brick company suffered a fall in annual sales for the first time since 2004, with Chief Executive Niels B. Christiansen saying there would be no "quick fix." Revenues were down 8 percent to 35 billion Danish crowns ($5.8 billion) from 37.9 billion in 2016. 
 
 "We have a lot of focus around innovative products, so making our great products even better. We have a lot of focus about making the effectiveness of the marketing go up. We are shifting towards digital and we are spending a lot in that area as well," Christiansen said at the results presentation in Billund, Denmark. 
 
 A third focus will be on allowing creative teams to make decisions and act more quickly. 
 
 But Lego still topped many children's Christmas wish lists, especially in the U.S. and Germany, according to Chief Marketing Officer Julia Goldin. The company's Lego City and Star Wars sets did particularly well, as did Lego Friends, a range aimed at girls, Goldin said at the results presentation.
– Barbies and board games will always have a place in the family rec room, but it's Legos that rule the roost. The Danish toymaker now ranks as the largest toymaker in the world in terms of revenue, beating out competitors Hasbro and Mattel for the top spot with an 11% jump in the first half of the year, reports CNNMoney. The net profits for the company—which once said it has sold about 86 bricks for every person on Earth—were also up 14% compared to the same period in 2013, reports the AP. So why the sudden brick-loving boom? Lego honchos say the wildly successful Lego Movie and related merchandising helped: The movie had grossed nearly $470 million by the end of August, reports the Wall Street Journal. And while competing manufacturers are probably hoping to play catch-up in the months leading up to year's end, execs in the family-owned business are confident they can keep, ahem, building on their momentum. "The majority of Lego sales ... [happen] in a short timespan of a few weeks leading up to the holiday season," the company's CFO says per CNNMoney—right before stating a reminder about the "highly anticipated launch" of the Lego Movie DVD in the second half of 2014. A sequel to the movie is set to hit theaters in 2017, notes the Journal. (Check out the world's largest Lego tower ever built.)