Compaq and Fisher-Price Team Up to Transform 'Edutainment'; Jointly Developed Products will Offer New Dimension in Play and Learning.HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 29, 195--In a move that will change the way families play and learn, Compaq Computer Corporation (company) Compaq Computer Corporation - The largest US manufacturer and vendor of IBM PC compatible personal computers and servers. Compaq was started in 1982 by three ex-Texas Instruments employees. Quarterly sales $2499M, profits $210M (Aug 1994). http://compaq.com/. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : CPQ CPQ Compaq CPQ Conseil du Patronat du Québec (Canada) CPQ Configure-Price-Quote CPQ Conseil de Presse du Québec (Québec Press Council, Canada) CPQ Companion Parrot Quarterly ) and toy manufacturer Fisher-Price, a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT) today announced they have teamed up to develop, manufacture and market a totally new line of education and entertainment-oriented products for young children. The new alliance represents an important moment for each company as it combines the efforts of the world's leading manufacturers of computers and pre-school toys to provide new and engaging ways for young children to harness the power of their multimedia PCs to play and learn. The opportunities for multimedia PC-based play and learning products are enormous. Current research shows that more than 35 million PCs have been sold into the home environment, and that nearly 30 percent of the 18 million U.S. households that have multimedia PCs, also have children under the age of seven.(a) "It's no secret that parents are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. products that combine the entertainment and educational value of PCs," said Eckhard Pfeiffer Eckhard Pfeiffer (born August 20, 1941 in Lauban, Germany—now Lubań, Poland) is a business executive of German ancestry, and a former CEO of Compaq from 1991-1998. He joined Compaq from Texas Instruments, and established operations from scratch in both Europe and Asia. , president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Compaq Computer Corporation. "Products produced by this partnership will help satisfy customer needs by delivering new and fun ways to play and learn, developed by companies whose names families have come to know and trust. "This partnership with Fisher-Price will help us reach an exciting new dimension in family and lifestyle computing and fits perfectly with our vision of providing truly useful innovation to the consumer marketplace," Pfeiffer added. The new products will utilize hardware and software technology and are expected to be introduced in mid-1996 through the PC and toy channels. Additional product details were not disclosed, but prototypes are expected to be unveiled early next year. "As a world leader in developing and marketing creative and educational toys What is an educational toy? ''' Toys, and educational toys, are typically built for and used by children. One could make the argument that an educational toy is actually any toy. Most children are constantly interacting with and learning about the world. for children, Fisher-Price is always looking to identify and respond to family needs," said Byron Davis Byron Davis (born 8 October 1973) is a squash coach and former professional squash player from Australia. As a player, his most notable successes came in doubles play. , president and CEO of Fisher-Price. "The tremendous popularity of home computers means it is now possible to add a new dimension to how pre-school age children play and learn. We plan to link education, entertainment and PCs together in a fun, imaginative and innovative way. We believe we can leverage the respective strengths of Compaq and Fisher-Price to develop products that capture and stimulate the imaginations of children and parents." As part of the alliance, each company will focus on its particular strengths to benefit the combined effort. Fisher-Price will bring its expertise in designing and manufacturing engaging products that stimulate play and learning to the partnership. Compaq will bring its expertise in creating innovative, reliable and lifestyle- enhancing technology. Defined teams within the two companies are working together on product design, manufacturing and consumer marketing. To ensure the products provide the desired educational value, the teams utilize educational specialists and make heavy use of Fisher-Price's special "child testing lab." "Both companies have impeccable reputations for quality, reliability, service and support. We are extremely excited and confident about leveraging these strengths to create products that parents will trust and children will thoroughly enjoy," added Davis. "By combining forces on this project, we can accomplish together what we might not have been able to individually." Corporate Backgrounds A wholly-owned subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. since 1993, Fisher-Price, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of toys and children's products. The company was founded in 1930 and enjoys a reputation for designing and manufacturing high quality, imaginative toys for infants and preschoolers, as well as innovative children's products such as video monitors and strollers. Mattel, Inc. is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of children's toys. With headquarters in El Segundo El Segundo (ĕl sēgŭn`dō), industrial city (1990 pop. 15,223), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1917. Its products include navigation and computer systems, aircraft parts, office machines, telephone apparatus, and , Calif., Mattel has offices and facilities in 36 countries and sells its products in more than 140 nations throughout the world. Compaq Computer Corporation is the world's largest supplier of personal computers, offering desktop PCs, portable PCs, and servers. Compaq's family of easy-to-use multimedia Presario computers is designed specifically for home and home office use. The Compaq Presario Presario is a series of desktop computers and notebooks from Compaq. The Presario family of computers was launched for the consumer marketplace in September 1993. Although HP has since acquired Compaq, the Presario name was not discontinued due to its marketability. family is available at more than 6,000 authorized au·thor·ize tr.v. au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing, au·thor·iz·es 1. To grant authority or power to. 2. To give permission for; sanction: retail locations nationwide, including computer superstores This is a list of superstores by country. Multi-national
Founded in 1982, Compaq reported 1994 worldwide sales of $10.9 billion. Compaq products are sold and supported in more than 100 countries through a network of more than 38,000 Compaq marketing partners. Compaq provides 24-hour customer support and can be reached through the Compaq forums on America Online See AOL. , CompuServe, Internet (http://www.compaq.com) and Prodigy An online information service that provides access to the Internet, e-mail and a variety of databases. Launched in 1988, Prodigy was the first consumer-oriented online service in the U.S. , or by calling 1-800-345-1518. -0- (a) Link Resources Corp., 1994 Home Media Consumer Survey Product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. CONTACT: Compaq Computer Corporation Brian Temple, Mike Berman, Yvonne Donaldson, John Sweney, Hedy Baker, Nora Hahn and Rebecca Kopf-Nahas 713-374-0484 or Miller/Shandwick Technologies Cheryl Delgreco, Jean Borgman 617-536-0470 jborgman@millercom.com or Fisher-Price Carol Blackley 716/687-3423 or Shandwick/Dorf & Stanton Kristi Hoffert 314/436-6565 James Korenchen 212/420-8100 |
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