EL SEGUNDO, Calif.,
July 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mattel,
Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) and Babytree, the world's largest parenting
portal, today launched the second phase of their strategic
partnership, focused on co-developing a network of physical
learning centers across China,
that will extend their online partnership. With curriculum and
activities inspired by Mattel's trusted and globally recognized
early childhood development brand, Fisher-Price®, the network of
learning centers will further solidify Mattel's position in
China as a partner of choice for
parents in learning and development.
An extension of Mattel and Babytree's online parenting platform
announced earlier this year, the learning centers will drive
interconnectivity and continuity between the online and physical
learning experiences for children ages zero to five. Combining
physical and online offerings, parents will be able to monitor and
access their child's progress; register for classes; see videos of
their child throughout the day and take home any activities learned
in the center for continued learning.
The service offering will include play areas for families,
retail and educational classes. There will also be daycare centers
featuring educational services and small retail areas in or near
office buildings. Combining Mattel and Fisher-Price's expertise in
learning and development with Babytree's industry-leading reach
with Chinese moms and expertise in early education in China, the learning centers are designed to
support Chinese parents in preparing their children for the
21st century.
"Parents in China are eager to
invest in innovative early childhood development that will help
prepare today's kids for a world being rapidly redefined by
technology," said Margo Georgiadis,
CEO of Mattel. "We see tremendous opportunity for Fisher-Price and
Babytree to fulfill this desire among Chinese parents through an
integrated offering of physical learning centers and an online
parenting platform."
With a goal of rapid expansion and a large-scale network across
China, the program is being
rolled-out initially in six locations. Mattel and Fisher-Price will
work on the development of education framework, course curriculum,
syllabi and classroom materials, while the joint venture will
leverage Babytree's big data capabilities to identify strategic
locations for the centers, as well as tap into Babytree's influence
on millions of Chinese families and industry-leading scale to
engage with Chinese moms.
"We are committed to our vision of bringing modern learning and
development to China and making it
accessible to parents not just in big cities like Beijing but across all regions in China," said Allen
Wang, Founder and CEO of Babytree. "We understand the desire
of Chinese parents to provide their kids with world-class early
development education, and we look forward to drawing on Mattel and
Fisher-Price's unique expertise in childhood development to achieve
our long-term vision."
With nearly 200 million unique monthly visitors, Babytree is
China's largest and most trusted
parenting portal. Established 10 years ago, Babytree now reaches
more than 90% of Chinese parents who have access to the internet,
providing products and services online and offline that cater to
young families' needs for knowledge, networking, child development
tracking and shopping. Babytree has witnessed the development
journey of more than 100 million children in China and accumulated tremendous amount of
insights, enabling Babytree to help ease pain points of existing
early childhood education in China
and continuously develop innovative solutions.
About Babytree
As China's leading family portal, Babytree is
building a member club with consumption upgrade of young families
at the core, accurately catering to young families' needs for
knowledge, networking, child development tracking and shopping,
allowing young moms in China to
better enjoy family life during pregnancy and child-rearing.
Babytree has built a massive online ecosystem encompassing its
internet platform, user community, original content, and key
opinion leader matrix. The success of this ecosystem is the result
of a focus on understanding and continuously addressing users' core
needs. Babytree's offering extends beyond the online platform
with innovative products and services including early education,
healthcare, finance, tourism and family services. Babytree has
built leading brands that include babytree.com, Happy Pregnancy
app, Babytree Wetime app, Meitunmama, and Mika.
About Fisher-Price
In 1931, Herman Fisher and Irving
Price embarked on a journey to change the toy industry.
Their goal: creating playthings that inspire a child's development.
More than 85 years later, Fisher-Price remains deeply rooted in the
belief that play is the way children learn best. To this day,
understanding the importance of play in building a child's skills
is the fundamental principle, as the company strives to enrich the
lives of families with young children around the globe. United by
the passion for a child's safe care and development at each age and
stage, the people of Fisher-Price work tirelessly to bring families
the best toys and baby products in the world. Some of the company's
best-known brands include Laugh & Learn®, Little People®, Power
Wheels® and Imaginext®, and it's also a leading developer of
character-based toys for children's programming such as Thomas
& Friends™, Blaze and the Monster Machines™ and Mickey Mouse
Clubhouse. Fisher-Price is a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. For
more information, visit www.fisher-price.com.
About Mattel
Mattel is a global learning, development
and play company that inspires the next generation of kids to shape
a brighter tomorrow. Through our portfolio of iconic consumer
brands, including American Girl®, Barbie®, Fisher-Price®, Hot
Wheels® and Thomas & Friends™, we create systems of play,
content and experiences that help kids unlock their full potential.
Mattel also creates inspiring and innovative products in
collaboration with leading entertainment and technology companies
as well as other partners. With a global workforce of approximately
32,000 people, Mattel operates in 40 countries and territories and
sells products in more than 150 nations. Visit us online at
www.mattel.com.
Contacts:
News Media
Alex Clark
310-252-6397
alex.clark@mattel.com
MAT-CORP
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SOURCE Mattel, Inc.