Bricks and Minifigs

What Bricks and Minifigs does

Bricks and Minifigs (legal entity BAM Franchising, Inc.) is the largest authorized LEGO resale franchise in North America, operating 300+ retail locations across the United States and Canada as of January 2026. The company was co-founded in 2010 by David Ortiz and John Masek in Battle Ground, Washington, after Ortiz conceived the concept in 2003 and the pair combined LEGO-collector expertise with retail operations experience. Corporate headquarters relocated to Orem, Utah in 2018. The core business is buying, selling, and trading new, used, and retired LEGO products — including complete sets, minifigures, bulk bricks, and accessories — with each franchise location maintaining its own local inventory sourced from customer trade-ins and consignments.

Revenue is generated through two primary mechanisms. Individual franchisees earn retail margins on buy/sell/trade transactions, supplemented by ancillary services such as Build-A-Fig custom minifigure stations, LEGO-themed birthday party and corporate event hosting, the Refills for Life bulk-bucket loyalty program, and BAM Education STEAM subscriptions for schools. At the corporate level, BAM Franchising collects one-time franchise fees from new store openings plus ongoing royalty payments, and provides training, brand systems, and operational support to the franchise network. The company serves multiple customer segments — adult LEGO collectors seeking retired or rare sets, families with children, the Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOL) community, party and event hosts, and educational/community organizations.

Technology and operations are essentially physical-retail oriented, with no disclosed e-commerce or proprietary technology platform. Distribution, brand, and community engagement (AFOL Build Nights, the Utah Bricks Club, blog content, and Facebook/Instagram presence) constitute the primary competitive assets. Recent strategic activity includes the May 2026 exclusive launch of a customizable MOC Wall Clock with Santoki, a LEGO licensed-product distributor, alongside a nationwide building contest. The company has also faced operational headwinds, including the permanent closure of the Salem, Oregon store in 2026 amid legal disputes over a missing LEGO Star Wars collection that escalated into criminal charges against a third-party YouTuber.

Name

Bricks and Minifigs

Legal name

BAM Franchising, Inc.

Website

https://bricksandminifigs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bricks and Minifigs is the largest authorized LEGO resale franchise in North America, operating 300+ franchise locations across the US and Canada that buy, sell, and trade new, used, and retired LEGO sets, minifigures, and bulk bricks for collectors, families, and hobbyist communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Toy Retail

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (459120)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Building Sets & Construction Toys Retail (CRALAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Traditional Toy Stores (CRALAFAA)

Keywords

• LEGO resale retail
• Toy store franchise
• Used LEGO sets
• Minifigure retail
• Specialty toy shop

Headquarters

HQ city

Littleton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Retail LEGO Product Sales: Revenue from buying, selling, and trading new and used LEGO products including sets, minifigures, and bulk bricks. Stores purchase inventory from customers or acquire through consignment arrangements and resell to consumers.
2. Franchise Fees: Initial franchise fee for new franchisees plus ongoing royalty payments based on store performance. Corporate headquarters in Utah provides training, brand, and operational support to franchise network.
3. Trade-in Credit: Customers can trade LEGO products for in-store credit rather than cash, encouraging repeat purchases and customer retention.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Bricks & Minifigs is a franchise-based LEGO retail business that buys, sells, and trades new, used, and retired LEGO sets, minifigures, bulk bricks, and accessories through 300+ independently owned franchise stores in the US and Canada. The company supplements retail with in-store Build-A-Fig stations, birthday party hosting, STEAM educational programs, exclusive co-branded products, and franchise opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Product overview

Bricks & Minifigs is a franchise-based LEGO resale retail business operating as the largest buy, sell, and trade LEGO reseller in North America. The core offering is the resale of new, used, and retired LEGO sets, bulk bricks, minifigures, and accessories through franchise-owned retail locations. The company supports its retail operations with complementary services including Build-A-Fig stations for custom minifigure creation, birthday party and event hosting, BAM Education STEAM programs with stop motion animation classes, and the Refills for Life bulk bucket loyalty program. Exclusive products like the Santoki MOC Wall Clock are offered through partnerships. The franchise opportunity enables entrepreneurs to open their own authorized LEGO resale stores with corporate support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BAM Franchising: The corporate franchising entity that manages the Bricks & Minifigs franchise system

Products and services

• LEGO Resale Services (Buy, Sell, Trade) Authorized LEGO reseller service allowing customers to buy, sell, or trade new, used, and retired LEGO sets, minifigures, bulk bricks, and accessories at any franchise location.
• Build-A-Fig Station In-store minifig maker table where customers design and create custom minifigures from a selection of interchangeable parts.
• BAM Education (STEAM Subscription) Educational programs including STEAM subscription boxes, stop motion animation classes, and hands-on LEGO learning activities for children and families.
• Refills for Life Refillable Bulk Bucket Program at participating locations offering refillable bulk LEGO buckets, providing ongoing access to bulk pieces at discounted rates.
• Birthday Party and Event Hosting LEGO-themed birthday party hosting and corporate event services with building activities, custom minifigure stations, and themed entertainment.
• Customizable MOC Wall Clock An exclusive customizable MOC (My Own Creation) wall clock created in partnership with Santoki, distributor of LEGO licensed products, launched with a nationwide building competition.
• Bricks & Minifigs Franchise Opportunity Franchise opportunity for entrepreneurs to open authorized LEGO resale stores, including training, operational support, brand access, and an established business model.
• Cash for LEGO Items Service where customers can sell their LEGO products directly to a store for cash payment.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SantokiminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 May 2026Bricks & Minifigs partnered with Santoki, a distributor of LEGO licensed products, to launch an exclusive customizable MOC Wall Clock and nationwide contest. The contest ran from May 15 through July 14, 2026, inviting builders of all ages to compete for prizes across 240+ participating franchise locations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• GameStop: A specialty retailer with a strong buy/sell/trade flywheel for video games, consoles, and collectibles. Operationally analogous as a specialty reseller with trade-in economics; differs in product category (gaming vs. construction toys).
• LEGO Brand Stores: Operated by The LEGO Group, LEGO Brand Stores are the manufacturer's own specialty retail channel for new sets. They overlap directly with Bricks & Minifigs' new-set sales but do not offer resale/trade-in of used LEGO, making them a partial competitor and the upstream supplier ecosystem.
• Hobby Lobby: A large US craft and hobby retail chain with broad assortment that includes some LEGO sets and a much wider hobby/craft range. Competitor for household hobby spend and shelf space, but not a LEGO specialist.
• Michaels Companies: North America's largest arts, crafts, and hobby retailer, carrying select LEGO items alongside broad hobby supplies. Comparable as a scaled hobby retailer but a category generalist versus B&M's specialist focus.
• Toys"R"Us (relaunched): The relaunched multi-category toy retailer carrying LEGO sets as a key category alongside broader toy assortments. Competes for family toy budgets and party/birthday occasions.

Direct peers

• Build-A-Bear Workshop: A publicly traded franchise-and-corporate-store experience retailer where customers customize a stuffed animal in-store. Comparable on franchise-led growth, experience-driven retail, and recurring add-on revenue (Build-A-Fig vs. Build-A-Bear).
• Learning Express Toys: A franchise-based specialty toy retail chain in the US. Directly comparable as a multi-unit franchise system selling toys through independently owned stores; differs in assortment breadth (LEGO-only specialist vs. multi-brand).

Emerging players

• minifigs.me: A direct-to-consumer custom minifigure maker competing specifically with Bricks & Minifigs' Build-A-Fig Station and online minifig sales. Niche overlap on the highest-margin slice of B&M's assortment.
• Once Upon a Brick: A smaller US-based LEGO-only specialty retailer offering new and used sets in physical stores. Closest direct competition, but at materially smaller scale, making it a nascent challenger rather than a true scale peer.

Others

• Amazon (LEGO Marketplace): The dominant e-commerce channel for both new LEGO sets and third-party used/resale listings. Indirectly competes for LEGO purchase occasions and pressures brick-and-mortar traffic for the rarer sets B&M specializes in.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bamfranchising
• Instagraminstagram.com/bricksandminifigsofficial
• Xx.com/bricks_minifigs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bricks and Minifigs