In its move to expand its already considerable presence on the Web, America Online Inc. Monday agreed to lease
leading children’s e-commerce company Nikolai.com Inc. space across a
variety of its brands for the next three years.
Nikolai.com Inc.’s online properties, including Nikolai.com, a children’s entertainment
site, and toyboutique.com, an
online toy store, will be available across several AOL (AOL)
brands, including AOL, AOL Canada, Netscape Netcenter and AOL’s Shop@AOL online shopping destinations on
AOL, AOL.COM, CompuServe and Netscape Netcenter.
Financial terms were not disclosed Monday.
Nikolai.com will receive prominent placement as an anchor tenant in the
games area of AOL’s Kids Only
Channel and will be accessible at AOL keywords: Nikolai or Neow-Neow.
Nikolai.com, already a tenant
on Netscape’s Netcenter, will also receive enhanced placement in the form
of a permanent
branded button and permanent text links in Netcenter’s Kidzone.
Toyboutique.com will be an e-commerce partner in the Educational Toys area
of the Shop@AOL online
shopping destinations on AOL, AOL.COM, CompuServe and Netscape Netcenter, and
during holiday season, it will also be included in AOL’s Kids Shopping
Catalogue.
Also, toyboutique.com will have a prominent branded button in the
Computing, Kids and Toys
departments within the Shopping Channel on AOL Canada, as well as
promotional opportunities.
“Our alliance with AOL is significant to the rapid growth of Nikolai.com
Inc. for two strategic reasons,” said
Isabel Hoffmann, President and CEO, Nikolai.com Inc.
“More families will have the opportunity to access us
directly, to take part in the Nikolai.com community and to experience the
convenience of our online store,
toyboutique.com. Secondly, AOL’s recognition of Nikolai.com Inc. as one of
the leading purveyors of
innovative children’s online content, furthers our mission of being the
Internet destination of choice for kids
and families.”
Nikolai.com Inc. is a children’s Internet and e-commerce company that has
gained high brand recognition for
its original characters and become a leading vertical portal for kids and
families.
AOL’s pairing with Nikolai.com is the latest in a number of alliances the online behemoth has created in the past few years. In November, AOL forged a three-year deal with Blockbuster Inc., which tapped Blockbuster as the No. 1 home video supplier on AOL’s entertainment channel. AOL paid the video powerhouse $30 million for the development of broadband and delivery for both companies.
