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." ||||| After decades of building pirate ships, race cars and haunted castles, Lego has come up with something new: a wheelchair. 
 
 The Danish toymaker has unveiled its first ever disabled minifigure on Thursday. The figure of a hat-wearing boy in a wheelchair was first spotted at the Nuremberg international toy fair in Germany and featured on fan blogs. 
 
 The company later confirmed the tiny wheelchair will be part of a new Lego CITY set that will come out in June. 
 
 Lego and other toymakers have been under pressure for some time to introduce toys that reflect real life. 
 
 Online campaign #ToyLikeMe has called on the company to produce figures that represent disabled children. Its online petition accumulated over 20,000 signatures. 
 
 "We've got genuine tears of joy right now," the campaign organizers said after the new toys were unveiled. 
 
 The new set appears to show a scene in a park, with figures of children in playground. 
 
 Related: Brick by brick, Lego builds top 100 brand 
 
 The company made 60 billion Lego pieces in 2014. Its sales across Europe, the Americas and Asia grew strongly thanks to the success of The Lego Movie. Sales grew 18% in the first half of 2015, following 15% growth in 2014. 
 
 The family-owned business became the biggest toymaker in the world in terms of revenue and profit in 2014, beating its rival Mattel. ||||| Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Danish toymaker Lego has reported its first sales decline in 13 years 
 
 Too many Lego bricks is a problem many parents will sympathise with, but now the toy firm itself has admitted it has made too many. 
 
 The company said sales and profits had fallen for the first time in 13 years, blaming the weak performance on having to sell off excess stock cheaply. 
 
 A Lego spokeswoman said it had "too much" stock in warehouses and shops. 
 
 "There wasn't enough room to get 2017 toys into the stores, and the toy trade is driven by newness," she added. 
 
 The Danish toymaker said dealing with the stock issue, as well as a drop in sales in Europe and North America, had dragged down its performance last year. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Kristiansen family archive 
 
 Lego Group chief executive Niels Christiansen said there was "no quick fix" and it would take the firm "some time" to grow long-term. 
 
 The weak performance comes after Lego cut 1,400 jobs worldwide in September, saying its business needed a "reset". 
 
 Revenue for 2017 dropped by 8% to 35bn Danish kroner (£4.2bn; $5.8bn), compared to 37.9bn kroner in 2016. 
 
 Pre-tax profits slid 18% to 10.4bn kroner in 2017. 
 
 "During the year, revenues declined, however consumer sales - or sales in stores - remained flat. This shows that consumers (kids and their parents) are continuing to buy from retailers," said Lego's spokeswoman. 
 
 Image copyright Lego Group Image caption Visitors can view dinosaur sculptures at the Lego House attraction in Billund, Denmark 
 
 Lego in numbers 
 
 75 billion bricks are sold annually in over 140 countries 
 
 915,103,765 - the number of ways to combine six two-by-four Lego bricks of the same colour 
 
 700 million Lego tyres are produced annually 
 
 19,000 employees from over 80 countries are employed by Lego 
 
 3,700 - the number of different types of Lego bricks 
 
 130 Lego brand retail stores around the world 
 
 0 - Lego says there have been no product recalls since 2009 
 
 "2017 was a challenging year and overall we are not satisfied with the financial results," Mr Christiansen said. 
 
 However, he said the firm's performance had improved towards the end of the year, with sales growing in seven of its 12 largest markets in December. 
 
 The company has been increasing sales in new markets, particularly in Asia. 
 
 Lego said that it saw "strong potential" in its business in China, where sales enjoyed double digit growth last year. 
 
 "However, to reduce retail inventories, we shipped less to our retailers than what the consumers are buying." 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Lego opened its first Asian factory in China in 2016 
 
 "We started 2018 in better shape and during the coming year we will stabilise the business by continuing to invest in great products, effective global marketing and improved execution," said Mr Christiansen. 
 
 In September, Lego said its half-year results had suffered because it had stretched itself too thin by diversifying into products that were not toys, such as the Lego movies. 
 
 Lego chairman Jorgen Knudstorp said at the time that adding complexity to the company had made it harder for the toymaker to grow further. 
 
 He said that the firm had pressed "the reset button" for the group with the aim of building "a smaller and less complex organisation". 
 
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– 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.)