Ho Ho Höchberg! | Brick Takeover GmbH

At our corporate partner, Brick Takeover GmbH, the Christmas business is in full swing – driven by a business model that grew out of a genuine passion.

Everything began in 2008 with a few old LEGO® bricks, when company founder Stefan Kiesel turned his enthusiasm for LEGO into a business focused on second-hand bricks. When I traveled to Würzburg at the end of November, I was not yet truly in a pre-Christmas mood. That was about to change with my visit to Brick Takeover GmbH in Höchberg. Only half an hour by bus separates the lively city of Würzburg from the quiet town of Höchberg, which was wrapped in frost that morning—a peaceful sight.

Upon arriving at the industrial area, the building barely caught my eye. I went down a staircase into the premises of the e-commerce company, where CEO Stefan Kiesel and COO Andreas Seubert welcomed me and invited me on a tour. It is hard to imagine that Brick Takeover once started in a small apartment with only two employees, later moving into a basement to grow to around ten staff members, and continuing to develop steadily to this day.

We walked through a rather long corridor from room to room, passing employees checking lists or filling containers with small, colorful items. Andreas happily explains that the company currently employs people from 15 different nationalities. This diversity suits the company well, as Brick Takeover serves an international customer base.

Among the employees are also students from the German Jordanian University (GJU), Andreas tells me. “At the moment, seven GJU students are working with us to complete their internships in the fields of international accounting, logistics, or industrial engineering.”

The heart of the company—and at the same time its unique selling point—is the wide range of LEGO products that customers can put together individually. What sounds simple at first turns out to be a revolutionary idea: offering LEGO bricks both new and used. The concept is aimed not only at children, but also at adults who have never lost their love of building with LEGO. Ordering individual parts is therefore no problem at Brick Takeover and is particularly popular on fan platforms. In addition to specialized platforms, Brick Takeover GmbH also sells the colorful figures, bricks, and sets through retailers such as Kaufland or Otto.

In a large room, I notice piles of boxes containing very special minifigures—Chewbacca from Star Wars or Rubeus Hagrid from Harry Potter seem to be looking right at me. Andreas points to one box and shows me winter-themed figures for Christmas. Proudly, he takes out a small camper with presents and a Christmas tree strapped to the roof. “Have a holly jolly Christmas” is the message of the festive vehicle.

Stefan shows me the Neuschwanstein Castle building set, his current favorite piece, and gathers all employees for a group photo. In keeping with the company’s location in the German state of Bavaria, we pose in front of the miniature version made up of many colorful individual pieces, which is particularly popular among collectors.

Even though Brick Takeover has grown steadily since its founding in late summer 2014, one thing remains clearly noticeable: the family-like atmosphere within the “Brick community.” Values such as solidarity, quality, and a spirit of innovation are reflected not only in the products, but above all in everyday interactions. As a company that ships worldwide, Brick Takeover takes responsibility—for its employees as well as for the environment and society. And it is precisely this sense of togetherness, combined with a deep passion for building, that gives the visit to Höchberg a very special, pre-Christmas atmosphere.

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