I didn't see any mention in the cost of licensing impacting the price of sets. That's a huge factor. Kits from Lego's own IP such as Ninjago, etc can offer a better PPP value because they aren't cutting in Disney or some other media brand.
> Observation 4: Licensed IP isn't always expensive...
> Piece count and part size have a much larger effect on PPP than licensing royalties. There isn't a huge difference between licensed themes and Lego's own internal themes. This makes a bit of sense- Lego is big enough that their own IP can command markups on a similar level as big-name entertainment franchises. Ninjago and minifigs are great examples of this.
> Observation 5: ...except for Star Wars
> Despite averaging over 1000 pieces, Star Wars sets rank near the bottom in PPP. Every theme below Star Wars features low piece counts and/or lots of electronics. Long-time Lego people already knew the Star Wars sets had a heavy markup, but it's interesting to see how Star Wars compares to another Lucasfilm franchise, Indiana Jones.
This. We know for a fact that there's a huge gap in PPP between licensed and unlicensed sets.
Unfortunately, without this distinction, the data is basically worthless.