Step2.com Earns the BizRate Platinum Circle of Excellence

Consumers Recognize America's Largest Toy Maker as "Excellent" Overall in Customer Service and Satisfaction

STREETSBORO, OHIO — October 14, 2009 — Recognizing its excellent customer service and consistent positive customer feedback, The Step2 Company's online direct sales channel at www.step2.com has earned BizRate's 2009 Platinum Circle of Excellence.

The Step2® Company is a family company with toy brands including Step2®, Infantino®, and Thinkativity® that foster learning and development through creative play in children from birth to school-age years, sold at retail worldwide and via www.step2.com.

The Circle of Excellence recognizes those online retailers within the BizRate®Research network who have demonstrated outstanding performance, as rated by their customers, throughout a one year period. In 2009, over 5,000 online merchants were considered for an award. Winners consistently obtained feedback from their customers throughout the award year period and received the highest ratings. The ratings are from the direct feedback, collected at the point-of-sale and after delivery of goods, from customers concerning seven key satisfaction metrics:

1. Overall satisfaction at the point-of-sale
2. Product selection at the point-of-sale
3. Ease of finding products on the website
4. Intent to buy from the same retailer again, collected after the order is received
5. Product met expectations, collected after the order is received
6. On-time delivery of the order
7. Customer support assistance

More than 2,500 people rated their experiences purchasing products through Step2.com's online store, recognizing the company with an overall score of "excellent." The Step2 Company earned high marks across the board to be included in the Platinum Circle of Excellence, among only three percent of all merchants evaluated within the BizRate network.

"We are honored to have earned the BizRate Platinum Circle of Excellence," said Rob MacKay, Vice President for Internet Sales and Marketing at The Step2 Company. "It is especially meaningful that this recognition reflects actual customer feedback, and it is a testimony to the dedication and hard work of the entire Step2 family."

In addition to providing innovative toys and excellent customer service, The Step2 Company is dedicated to providing parents and child care professionals access to learn and share information about the importance of creative play. CreativePlayPlus.com is a ground-breaking blog launched in partnership with the Step2 Company and the renowned Schubert Center for Child Studies. The site offers a variety of topics related to play and childhood development, and provides visitors with relevant news stories, expert research, articles and other blogs that center around the topic of developmental play.

For more information on Step2 products visit www.step2.com. For a full list of the 2009 BizRate Circle of Excellence winners visit: http://www.bizrate.com/boutique/2009circleofexcellence.html.

About The Step2 Company:
The Step2® Company is a family company with brands including Step2®, Infantino®, and Thinkativity® that foster learning and development through creative play in children from birth to school-age years. Step2, based in Streetsboro, Ohio, is the largest American manufacturer of preschool and toddler toys and the world's largest rotational molder of children's and home products, including children's play kitchens, playhouses, outdoor toys and ride on toys, as well as home products such as mailboxes, gardening aids and trash cans. Infantino, headquartered in San Diego, Calif. is a leading designer and international distributor of innovative and original infant, toddler, and preschool products. Featuring fashion-forward designs, the popular product lines include classic creative baby toys and puzzles, innovative soft baby carriers, and simple, no-fuss baby travel systems. New Jersey-based Thinkativity is a leading innovator of electronic and early learning toys promoting inventive play patterns through original musical compositions and stories that inspire children to explore, play and learn. Step2, in partnership with Case Western Reserve University's Schubert Center for Child Studies, sponsors CreativePlayPlus.com, an online resource to provide parents with the latest research on creative play and child development. Visit www.creativeplayplus.com for more information on this partnered initiative. Visit www.step2.com, www.infantino.com and www.thinkativity.com to learn more about The Step2 Company brands.

CONTACT:
Dotti Franks, Vice President Marketing Communications
dfranks@step2.net; 330-656-0440
Lisa Brogan, CURRENT
lbrogan@currentlm.com; 310-854-8278