Denmark: Toys from Jutland

Denmark's Godtfred Kirk Christian sen, 47, is fond of remarking that even the best is none too good for children, and he should know what he is talking about: the worldwide success of his Lego toymaking business has all the ingredients of a modern-day Hans Chris tian Andersen fairy tale. An anomaly among internationally minded Danish executives, Christiansen speaks no for eign languages, bases his family-owned enterprise not in Copenhagen but in the remote Jutland village of Billund (pop. 1,300). Nonetheless, his up-from-nothing business has annual sales of more than $30 million, now accounts for almost a penny of...

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