RC2's The First Years® Brand Announces Arrival of GumDrop® at Major Retailers

OAK BROOK, Ill., Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- RC2 Corporation's (Nasdaq: RCRC) The First Years® brand, a leader in mother, infant and toddler products, announces the arrival of its new line of GumDrop pacifiers and coordinating pacifier accessories at retailers nationwide. Manufactured under license from Natus Medical Incorporated (Nasdaq: BABY), GumDrop pacifiers feature the same nipple shape as the popular Soothie® pacifier, and the GumDrop brand is used by hospitals nationwide. GumDrop pacifiers also feature an innovative contoured shape, letting more of baby's face show. The new GumDrop line launches at all major retailers this month.

Improving the Soothie® pacifier design, GumDrop pacifiers are uniquely contoured to fit baby's face, and not touch baby's nose (www.thefirstyears.com/gumdrop).GumDrop pacifiers are lightweight and feature a one-piece design made of silicone, with a handle hole for safe and convenient pacifier clip use. GumDrop Pacifiers are available in two sizes, newborn (0 to 3 months) and infant, and come in playful green, blue, orange, pink and purple colors. In addition to GumDrop pacifiers, The First Years is introducing a line of coordinating pacifier attachers and cases.

"At the heart of our consumer-centric mission at The First Years is our commitment to provide expectant and new mothers with innovation," states Pete Henseler, President of RC2 Corporation. "GumDrop pacifiers are the perfect example of building on what moms and babies love about Soothie®; and creating a brand-new retail offering with a unique product design. All of mom's top needs have been addressed– low profile design, easily attached to a clip, and a one-piece design for safety."  

About Natus Medical

Natus is a leading provider of healthcare products used for the screening, detection, treatment, monitoring and tracking of common medical ailments in newborn care, hearing impairment, neurological dysfunction, epilepsy, sleep disorders, and balance and mobility disorders. Product offerings include computerized neurodiagnostic systems for audiology, neurology, polysomnography, and neonatalogy, as well as newborn care products such as hearing screening systems, phototherapy devices for the treatment of newborn jaundice, head-cooling products for the treatment of brain injury in newborns, incubators to control the newborn's environment, and software systems for managing and tracking disorders and diseases for public health laboratories.

Additional information about Natus Medical can be found at www.natus.com.

About RC2 Corporation

RC2 Corporation (www.rc2.com) is a leading designer, producer and marketer of a broad range of innovative, high-quality products for mothers, infants, and toddlers, as well as toys and collectible products sold to preschoolers, youths and adults. RC2's mother, infant, toddler and preschool products are primarily marketed under its Learning Curve® (www.learningcurve.com) family of brands which includes The First Years®, Lamaze® and JJ Cole® Collections brands, as well as popular and classic licensed properties such as Thomas & Friends, Special Agent Oso, Chuggington, Dinosaur Train, John Deere, Disney's Winnie the Pooh, Princesses, Cars, Fairies and Toy Story, and other well-known properties. RC2 markets its youth and adult products primarily under the Johnny Lightning® (www.johnnylightning.com) and Ertl® (www.ertl.com) brands. RC2 reaches its target consumers through multiple channels of distribution supporting more than 25,000 retail outlets throughout North America, Europe, Australia, Asia Pacific and South America.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this release contain "forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "expect," "intend," "may,'' "plans," "potential," "target," "should," "will" and "would." Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results and future developments could differ materially from the results or developments expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to make any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this release or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release.

GumDrop is a registered trademark of Hawaii Medical LLC Ltd.

This product is not manufactured or distributed by RIC Investments, LLC owner of the registered trademark Soothie®.

SOURCE RC2 Corporation