a case study developed by MBA students AAGBS, UiTM Shah Alam. Title: LEGOLAND® Malaysia Resort “Built for Kids” \

1. MASTER IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
ARSYAD AYUB GRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOL
PREPARED BY:
HANI SYAHIRAH BINTI AB HALIM
AMILIA HAIDA BINTI AHMAD AMINUDIN
NOR HIDAYAH BINTI MOHAMAD SHUKRI
SITI SYAHIDAH BINTI SYED A HASSAN
August 25, 2016

4. Malaysia Tourism Industry
Source: Department of Statistics Malaysia (2011)

5. • The LEGOLAND® theme parks are part of Merlin
Entertainments Group which rank first in Europe
and second in the world in terms of attractions
operators (The LEGO Group, 2014).
1968
• The first LEGOLAND® park, Billund, Denmark
2012
• The 1st LEGOLAND in Asia and 1st International
Park in Malaysia, LEGOLAND Malaysia.

6. The Chain of LEGOLAND (opened)
Source: LEGO Group (2014)

7. Iskandar Malaysia: A Regional Tourist Destination
Iskandar Malaysia fundamental aim is to be a strong and
sustainable metropolis of international standing by the year of 2025
(IRDA, 2016).
Iskandar Malaysia’s development contributed in
increasing investors’ interest and visitor arrivals
(IRDA, 2016).
Iskandar Malaysia has reached its tipping point when the catalysts
projects completed (Ernst & Young Corporate Finance Pte Ltd.,
2014).
The new catalyst projects; LEGOLAND Theme Park and Puteri
Harbour Family Theme Park made Nusajaya’s as a popular holiday
destination (Dzaenis , 2013).

8. LEGOLAND®
Malaysia Resort

9. The idea is to have one amazing attraction in
Malaysia to boost the tourism industry. At first,
Universal Studio was chosen to be opened in Johor
but eventually after consideration by the
government, they had to decline Universal Studio
(US) since the requirements includes casinos and
non-halal products (Suhaimee, 2016)

10. LEGOLAND Park
LEGOLAND
Water Park
LEGO
Themed
Hotel
Source: The LEGO Group (2014)
BUSINESS MODEL

11. Tourism numbers up in Johor
• State Tourism, Domestic Trade
and Consumerism executive
council chairman Datuk Tee
Siew Kiong said between
January and June 2015, Johor
recorded 3.2 million tourists
compared to 2.8 million within
the same period in 2014.
• Domestic tourists made up the
majority with 2.16 million
arrivals while foreigners
numbered 1.1 Million.
Source : Mohd Farhaan Shah (2015)

12. Top 20 amusement park in Asia according to travel
site TripAdvisor announced on Wednesday
(Jun 29, 2015).
Source : Universal Studios Singapore (2015)
Ranked 12th
amusement park
in Asia for the
third year
running.

13. SWOT
ANALYSIS

14. • It is a family holiday destination with more than 70
hands-on rides, slides, shows and attractions
• LEGO® is a popular brand worldwide
• The availability of annual tickets and “value passes” for
customers
• Good marketing and advertisement such as through
Groupon, Amazon and Lazada
• The centrepiece is MINILAND, where Asian landmarks
have been recreated using more than 30 million LEGO
bricks
STRENGTH
• Lego product portfolio is less diversified
• Limited accommodation selection such as types of
rooms available
WEAKNESSES
Source: Shaik Azman (n.d.) ; Lego Bricks and LegoLand Strategic Decision Maker (2015)

15. • The Lego brand is associated with quality and reliability by
positive brand image which can be used by the parks to
attract visitors.
• As the brand Lego is fast penetrating in markets outside
Europe, USA and Malaysia, is a platform to attract more
international visitors.
• Tapping into emerging economies with more advertising
and marketing will enable more customers to visit
LEGOLAND
OPPORTUNITIES
• Competition from Sunway Lagoon and Universal
Studio Singapore.
• Advancement of technology: Online gaming
THREAT
Source: Shaik Azman (n.d.) ; Lego Bricks and LegoLand Strategic Decision Maker (2015)

16. ISSUES OF LEGOLAND
MALAYSIA RESORT

17. ISSUE 1
Limitation of Target
Market Age Group

20. Tripadvisor (2016). LEGOLAND Malaysia: Reviews. Retrieved August 22, 2016, from
https://www.tripadvisor.com.my/Attraction_Review-g298278-d3491018-Reviews-or10-Legoland_Malaysia-
Johor_Bahru_Johor_Bahru_District_Johor.html#REVIEWS.

21. Source : HWZ Forums (2014).

22. ISSUE 2
The Challenge: Using
Mobile to Enhance the
Theme Park Visit

23. • As the second largest entertainment company in
the world after Disney, Merlin Entertainment
decides to provide mobiles apps as the company
realizes the use-fullness of the apps.
• Merlin already has 13 mobile apps or 6 different
park attraction locations and has accumulated
350,000 downloads in the past year (Legoland
Group, 2014).
Source: Google Play Store (2016)

24. ISSUE 3
CRIME

25. Source : Halim (2015)

26. Source : Facebook post on child (2015). Facebook post on child drugged at Legoland a hoax. Retrieved August 24, 2016, from
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/06/29/facebook-post-legoland-singapore/

27. Issue 4:
Pokémon GO for
LEGOLAND Malaysia
Resort: Good or Bad?

28. LEGOLAND Florida Resort, had to issue
guidelines for playing the phone-app
game on its premises (White, 2016).
San Diego Tourism has
recommended LEGOLAND
California as one of the hot
spot to hunt Pokémon
(Gardner, 2016).

29. Kota Iskandar, Johor has become Pokémon hunting ground
resulting to the area as one of the hottest geo-locations
for players of the wildly popular augmented reality game
Pokémon GO (Yee, 2016)
“Over the weekend I was
catching Pokémon at
Danga Bay and met some
new friends who
recommended Legoland”,
Sia said.
(Yee, 2016)

30. Good or Bad?
• The app’s Poke Stops (where you get Poke balls,
potions, etc.) and Gyms (where captive Pokémon fight)
are a good way to introduce travellers to local parks,
historic sights, museums and public art (Gardner, 2016)
• Thus, Pokémon GO can become one of the marketing
strategies to promote the LEGOLAND and become one
of attraction for the players to visit LEGOLAND.

31. • By understanding the company core business, it will help LEGO Group to achieve
its vision.
• LEGOLAND Theme Parks brings excitement and fun to their visitors through
rides and various attractions.
• There are several issues encountered by LEGOLAND® Malaysia Resort.
LEGOLAND Theme Parks targeted family with young children age from 2 to 12
years old.
• Thus, this has become the major issue as the adults are prone to visit Universal
Studios Singapore and Sunway Lagoon.

32. 1. With reference to the LEGOLAND® Malaysia Resort case study,
identify and explain the competitive advantages that LEGOLAND
posses?
2. How did LEGOLAND® Malaysia Resort deal with its target market
issue that arose from the case study?
3. The State Tourism, Domestic Trade and Consumerism Executive
Council Chairman, Datuk Tee Siew Kiong mentioned that “one of
the visitor attractions that boost tourism sector in Johor is
LEGOLAND® Malaysia Resort”, hence what are LEGOLAND roles
that contribute to this success?
4. In future, if LEGOLAND® Malaysia Resort implements a LEGOLAND
Mobile App, what could the company gain from it?
5. Based on the LEGOLAND® Malaysia Resort ‘Built for Kids’ Case
Study, how does the LEGOLAND® Malaysia Resort’s business model
works?