New York (CNN Business) Lego lost a huge customer when Toys "R" Us went out of business last year.

But the toy maker found a way around the problem. Lego expanded distribution at big retailers like Walmart and Target, and it doubled down in China, Lego Group CEO Niels Christiansen told CNN Business.

The privately-held Danish toy company said Wednesday that sales grew 4% in 2018 after falling the previous year.

Lego bucked the global slowdown in toys and grew sales in the United States, Europe and Asia. That's despite toy sales falling 2% around the world in 2018 after four straight years of growth, according to market research firm NPD Group.

Lego increased its space on Walmart and Target shelves, and it participated in toy events that those retailers held in stores during the run-up to the holidays. Target, for example, remodeled toy sections at some stores and added signs and oversized displays, including a giant three-foot Lego slide above the aisles.

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