Ole Kirk Christiansen, who established his workshop in Billund in Denmark in 1932 made wooden toys and furniture. His business wasn’t particularly profitable, and he struggled through the beginning of the 30s. However, in 1934, he began focusing on building toys — and changed the name of his company to LEGO, a contraction of the Danish words “leg godt” (play well).
In the 1960s, the company grew to other Nordic countries. The company also created smaller bricks that were perfect for hands with small hands, and named it DUPLO in honor of the Latin word duplex (two-fold). This allowed children to make more precise models.
In the 1970s Lego began to introduce new features to make their products stand out from the competitors. They added different faces to the minifigures. This made the figures look more realistic and allowed them to display different facial expressions and emotions. The Lego Group also added wheels to its bricks, opening the possibility of designing vehicles and other machines that moved.
The next major step for the company came when it introduced dedicated themes — a system within the systems that allowed users to design their own world or situation. This helped the company make its brand more recognizable and helped them appeal to an increasingly younger audience. The company also increased production by opening factories in South Korea and Malaysia.
https://lego-x.com/2020/01/16/lego-company-history-production-features/