LEGO Group�s recent announcement that it will build a new factory in Virginia has focused attention on the company�s North American headquarters in Connecticut, with some industry watchers saying it may not be a good sign for the company�s future in the state.

The Denmark-based global toymaker announced last week it plans to invest more than $1 billion to build a factory in suburban Richmond, to open in 2025. The facility will be the company�s seventh globally and its first in the U.S.

A company spokesperson said the decision would have no impact on the size and scope of the Enfield headquarters, and a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont told Hearst Connecticut Media that LEGO�s senior leadership had affirmed its commitment to keep the office in the state.

�It is commonplace for corporations to invest and expand in multiple states � and they do so for a wide variety of strategic reasons,� Max Reiss told the news outlet. �LEGO has been and continues to be a fantastic partner with our state and we look forward to strengthening this relationship now and into the future.�

Still, the development raises the question of whether the headquarters might eventually move to Virginia, Fred Carstensen, a professor of finance and economics at the University of Connecticut, told Hearst.

�They better be worried,� Carstensen said of state officials. �Physical proximity of a headquarters to manufacturing facilities is definitely a factor companies consider.�

A number of factors could have persuaded the company to locate the factory elsewhere, said Donald Klepper-Smith, an economist with DataCore Partners.

�Economic development these days speaks to cost structures,� Klepper-Smith told Hearst. �Forty percent of your long term job growth is a function of the cost of doing business. And when it comes to Connecticut, businesses are being incentivized to look elsewhere.�

(AP)