Introducing Stride Rite Toddler Tech; Advanced Thinking for Busy Little Feet

May 17, 2001

LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2001--Stride Rite(R), America's #1 brand of children's footwear, introduces Toddler Tech(TM) with Natural Cushioning System(TM) -the next stage to its highly successful "Baby" line, which launched during Spring 2000 and was specifically designed to promote natural development and walking patterns for first walkers.

The Stride Rite Toddler Tech collection includes nine new styles in sizes 71/2 to 12 and features the "natural cushioning system(TM)" to alleviate the increased pressure a growing toddler's gait places upon the foot, while promoting a child's natural walking pattern. The collection will be available in Stride Rite Stores and other select retailers on August 1, 2001.

"Toddler Tech is the best combination of technical expertise we are able to research, as well as a natural approach to the activities that a toddler engages in, the way they play and the way they behave," says Donna Morton, Senior Vice President of Brand Creative for Stride Rite. "The new shoes will benefit children ages 2 to 4 who need more stability, balance and support for more aggressive action and quick side-to-side movements."

Shoes For the Way a Toddler Moves

The Toddler Tech design and engineering innovations are grounded in key learnings from the 1999 groundbreaking research study commissioned by Stride Rite in conjunction with the Connecticut Children's Medical Center, which studied children's walking patterns or gait, how shoes affect movement, and which design features help babies walk more naturally.

This research, along with the latest findings from Stride Rite's "Toddler Roundtable" discussion, comprised of pediatric and footwear experts, day care professionals, and mothers of toddlers, led to the development of the Toddler Tech line as the next stage to Stride Rite(R) baby with Natural Motion System(TM).

Shoes That Cushion and Protect

The "natural cushioning system" features medial and lateral outside support and toddler "brakes" to help support a growing toddler's increased activity level, including harder landings, quicker starts and stops and more sudden left/right movements, that require more durable, protective shoes.

Stride Rite's "natural cushioning system" includes a variety of features and benefits to promote toddler's natural walking pattern including:

Visible gel pack for shock absorption and cushioning
A contoured "stride path" to mimic toddler gait patterns
Flex grooves extended to the toes for maximum flexibility
A spring toe for better propulsion that allows toddlers to explore on different surfaces

Toddler Tech Styles

The new Toddler Tech collection features athletic and casual styles that appeal to a mother looking for fashionable shoes that are durable for her toddler's indoor and outdoor activity and versatile for everyday wear.

Marketing Support

The Stride Rite Toddler Tech collection will have marketing support including in-store and Internet based features. A direct mail piece highlighting the Stride Rite Toddler Tech collection will be sent to new customers. Additionally, an advertising spread featured in the back-to-school issue of Martha Stewart Living Kids.

For over eighty years, Stride Rite, headquartered in Lexington, MA, has engineered and designed footwear specifically for growing children because the company researches & understands the way children's feet grow and develop. Stride Rite remains highly committed to helping parents raise happy and healthy children by providing products that are developmentally appropriate, that meet parents' expectations for quality, and that are exciting for children to wear products created with the same commitment that parents bring to their own job of raising their children.

For Stride Rite locations nearest you visit www.striderite.com.

--30--bh/bos*

CONTACT: Trade Barbara Scott STRIDE RITE 617-824-6238 or Financial Frank A. Caruso STRIDE RITE CORPORATION 617-824-6028