The Lego Group world's largest toy company by revenue, with sales amounting to US$2.1 billion, surpassing Mattel, which had US$1.9 billion in sales. On 11 August 2017, Lego announced that Niels B. Christiansen would become the new CEO, effective 1 October of the same year. The history of Lego spans nearly 100 years, beginning with the creation of small wooden playthings during the early 20th century. Manufacturing of plastic Lego bricks began in Denmark in 1947, but since has grown to include factories throughout the world. In 1961, Lego was managed by Samsonite until 1972 in the United States and 1986 in Canada.
Lego Design byME as LEGO Design byME sets. This does not affect the HERO Recon Team Hero Creator range of products. Lego has confirmed that it will continue Lego Digital Designer as a free design software, and it will also keep its Pick-a-Brick service operational. Lego claims that Design byME has proven to be "too complex for children", and that despite its success, "the overall Design byME experience has struggled to live up to the quality standards for a LEGO service". Lego Design byME Lego Design byME was a service connected with the construction toy Lego. The service was launched in 2005 under