LEGO® Certified Stores Middle East, operated by Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle, is celebrating World Play Day on 10th August by opening registrations for the LEGO Certified Store community club for Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOLs). AFOLs, which include enthusiastic fans and collectors spanning different age groups, professions and backgrounds, and who represent a large proportion of LEGO Certified Store consumers, will be invited to exclusive building events in store, receive early access to exclusives and offers, and have the opportunity to share their love of bricks with likeminded fans across the region.
The LEGO Stores Community will be run by fans for fans and will be piloted in the UAE before expanding across the region. LEGO has long been an advocate of the AFOL community and has enhanced its efforts around the globe following its latest ‘Play Well Report’, which found that 93% of adults are regularly feeling stressed, with 80% saying they are actively looking for new ways to unwind and relax. The report, which surveyed over 30,000 adults from 33 countries around the world in 2022, also revealed that in the UAE, 83% of adults said that LEGO play offers them relief from everyday life, chores and other worries while more than 80% said that LEGO play helps them develop their creativity skills and stay focused and determined.
Self-identified AFOLs have been around for decades, creating regional and online communities, events, magazines, blogs, and other media channels all across the globe. This is the first time LEGO Certified Stores in the region will work hand in hand with the AFOL community to establish and facilitate collaborations and events led by an AFOL Community Lead and store team members who have been recruited as ‘Brick Buddies’.
Commenting on the LEGO Stores Community, Fahed Ghanim, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle, said:
“AFOLs have long been an important part of our customer base for LEGO Certified Stores and we are delighted to be supporting an exclusive club for this community on World Play Day, which marks the 91st anniversary of the brand. The Community is focused on providing a platform to unite AFOLs from across the region and embrace the essence of play and creativity together.”
“At Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle we take great pride in creating great moments for our customers and this initiative allows us to provide them with vibrant hubs of shared passion, imagination, and inspiration. We are sure the LEGO® Stores Community will not only cater for our existing AFOLs but also serve as a gateway for potential fans who may not yet be aware of the global fandom and boundless possibilities that lie within the world of play.”
World Play Day was celebrated at LEGO Certified Stores with a special international AFOL-celebrity guest, Lluís Gibert, who is a world-renowned LEGO Ambassador, the creator of HispaBrick Magazine, and the organiser of the highly acclaimed Skaerbaek FanWeekend. AFOLs in the UAE were invited to meet Gibert as he unveiled his personal brick design entitled ‘The Dubai Dream’. The Dubai inspired miniland figure holds a heart in one hand and a micro-representation of the Burj Khalifa in the other.
There are over 100 different products in the LEGO sets for Adults range – from wonders of the world to movie magic, intrepid space exploration to pop culture icons, and from luxury cars to architectural masterpieces – designed to offer adults a fully immersive, hands-on, mindful activity to help them switch off. Regardless of passions points, there’s a LEGO set for everyone to explore their favourite passion in a new creative way.
To find out more, fans can connect with Brick Buddies across any LEGO Certified Stores in the UAE or visit lego.yellowblocks.me
COMMENTS