A New LEGO Certified Store Opened in Sunshine Coast - But Something Went Wrong

Just a few days ago on Saturday, 21st of March, a brand-new LEGO Certified Store opened at Sunshine Plaza on Australia's Sunshine Coast. The line to enter the LEGO store was huge, with hundreds of people lining up to get in - but after a while, visitors were noticing the line wasn't moving. So, what caused the delay and what could LEGO Certified Stores do better?

The LEGO Store at Sunshine Plaza, located in Sunshine Coast, QLD.

I arrived at the LEGO store at 8:45am - just 15 minutes before the store was due to open. I thought this would give me plenty of time to jump in line so I could get into the store after a short wait... I was very, very wrong.

While it can be a bit tricky to determine the number of people in line from these photos alone, there were approximately 150 people queued up in front of me, and dozens more behind me. This doesn't sound too horrible, but here's the kicker - it took me over 2 HOURS to get to the front of the line and into the store. During this time I witnessed a handful of people give up and leave the line (and two different women send their partners to go and fetch drinks & snacks), however the majority of people in the line seemed determined to get into the store despite the enormous wait.

A 91.1 HOT FM radio pop-up stall gave away free LEGO sets to members of the public that participated in a wheel spin.

During the wait, there wasn't anything to do to kill the time. However, a nearby radio station stall hosted by 91.1 HOT FM was giving out some small (but free) LEGO sets to members of the public that participated in a wheel spin. This was actually a great giveaway for young children and for some parents arguably made the trip to the store worth it, despite the long wait in the line.

A mural built by Ryan "Brickman" McNaught featuring a huge wave and lighthouse, built from 21,105 pieces. The LEGO surfer and interactive surfboard build features 44,506 pieces.

The store itself is an average-sized LEGO store, less than half the size of the world's largest LEGO store located at the Pitt St Mall in Sydney. The queue to get to the checkout took me an additional 40 minutes to get through, before I was finally served at the front counter. But what caused the almost 3-hour wait?

The answer: There are only two checkout stations in the store, and one of them broke at the beginning of the day when the store opened. This left just one register available to serve hundreds of people (except for customers with cash, who could still get through the broken register). This was an unfortunate and unlucky start for the new Sunshine Coast LEGO store, but fortunately people still continued to queue up regardless.

One customer in the line near me actually made a really good suggestion, which I believe LEGO should consider for future store launches: "It would be great if they had a few LEGO employees walking around with spare digital payment machines on launch days". This would've drastically sped up the service time and helped to get through the queue despite the broken register. Maybe this could prove challenging if customers want to earn VIP points - but this is a billion-dollar company we're talking about, and I'm sure they can find a solution.

On a more positive note, the store was beautifully decorated, the staff were very friendly and kind, and it's at a great location with plenty of parking and ways to access the shopping centre.

The LEGO Star Wars Smart Play sets were not selling well at the new store.

If you happen to live near or be visiting the Sunshine Coast, keep an eye out for the Easter Egg hunt happening this weekend - a great event for kids where LEGO sets will be available to win! Keep an eye on the Brick News website for more LEGO news.