There’s only one LEGO, but among the rivals, the Chinese brand JMBrickerlayer is considered an up-and-coming rival due to repeated reports of good after-sales care.
The brick model company has an Amazon storefront and a storefront of its own. The quirk, though, is that you pay with PayPal. I trust PayPal.
JMBrickbuilder for Father’s Day
We’ve been in touch with a rep from JMBricklayer who told us that the audience demographics for the brand is 50%/50% male and female buyers. I’m not surprised.
I am surprised that Father’s Day has been a big sales period for them. Father’s Day is about buying gifts, but I wouldn’t have thought premium bricks would be among them. I know ‘toy’ is a dangerous word to use near brick models, but I can find no statistics that say toys sell particularly well on Father’s Day.
Here’s what JMBricklayer predict as their top five-selling Father’s Day brick sets in 2025.
- The Flying Dutchman – the iconic ghost ship.
- Vintage car – not sure there’s much ‘vintage’ about the background, tho.
- Rainbow Unicorn – with a touch of cyberpunk.
- Mechanical Spaceman – like something from Doctor Who.
- Mecha Robot – a Chinese Gundam?
We’ve been told that the gross merchandise value for JMBricklayer in 2024 was in the hundreds of millions. Of course, they’ve had an American market focus, and if these plastic bricks are made in China, then the current political tensions won’t help.
When I asked for ‘why’ Father’s Day is essential, here’s what a spokesperson said;
We find our JMBricklayer sets resonate so well for Father’s Day because they offer dads a truly engaging escape and a fantastic sense of accomplishment. These aren’t just bricks; they’re intricate projects that allow for focus and creativity, culminating in a display-worthy piece they can be genuinely proud of. It’s a gift of quality time – both in the building and in admiring the impressive result.”
Okay, take the corporate talk out, and there’s lots that I agree with, especially if you know someone well enough to buy them a project while hinting that you, too, could be part of the project. In this sense, it’s not about buying your father a toy – it’s about buying a project you can spend time with him on.
