Covid-19, the scourge of our Earth, has put many things to a grinding halt in many aspects of our lives. Everything from going to school, work or shopping have been impacted by this horrible experience.
Many families are looking to pass the time with their favorite hobbies, and one shared by many geeks is Lego builds. This leaves one to ask how has Covid-19 impacted this beloved past time. Where can you get your brick? Will there be a delay in new sets arriving? Will I have to cancel my trip to Lego-Land!?
Let’s touch on that first question: where can you score some sets to build? A quick Google search showed that the local Lego Store at North Star Mall in San Antonio, Texas is closed for now, and it seems that the employees of the retail stores are to be furloughed (according to an anonymous source) for at least 30 days.
The Lego Store at North Star Mall in San Antonio, Texas. All Lego Stores are closed for now due to the Covid-19 emergency.
You can still order sets directly from the official Lego site, and have your goodies dropped right off at your front step, if you are observing the social distancing thing. There are a few other places you can get your Lego fix such as your local Walmart or Target stores, but keep in mind that they are limiting traffic to protect people from getting sick.
It is interesting to note that, other supply chains are severely interrupted by this pandemic, China only has impacted 1.0% of Lego’s supply chain which is very good news.
One thing that you will need to hang tight on though are some of the new Lego sets that were slated to come out later this spring on into the early summer. The biggest example of a sad delay is the Super Mario set which is now to appear in store on August 1st. Pre-orders were available, but as of the date of this article they are currently sold out.
Lego may not be increasing their financial outlook right now due to everything going on, but this has not stopped them from giving back to their most important builders: the children of the world. The Lego Foundation, as part of a first initiative, have donated $50 million US dollars to ensure that children have access to learning through play. The donation will be split between 3 charitable groups Education Cannot Wait, select Lego Foundation partners working with children under pressure from the Covid-19 crisis and local partners working directly with communities.
Still jonesing for more Lego beyond the build? You are in luck as Lego has the new show on Fox, Lego Masters, which is getting ready to wrap up its first season. The show pits some of the best build teams in the United States as they put together elaborate builds in a relatively short period of time. The theme for each show changes, and adds twists making each build that much more of a challenge.
Lego is going strong, and the brick will be here for some time to come. The Lego Store landscape may take some time to re-open, but rest assured you can get your brick fix through many different channels.
