SmarterKids.com and Earlychildhood.com merge

SmarterKids.com Inc., online educational toy store and Earlychildhood.com, LLC, manufacturer and retailer of educational products founded in 1985, will combine their companies. In a statement released today, the companies said, "The combination leverages ECC's strength in developing proprietary products for the early childhood educational market, building traditional catalog and field sales channels, and in establishing an integrated nationwide inventory procurement and fulfillment operation with SmarterKids.com's award-winning, e-commerce capabilities and technology infrastructure." Al Noyes, executive vice president of SmarterKids.com, will become chief executive officer of the new combined company. "Together we will have superior catalog and online operations, attractive operating margins, and strong, complementary revenue streams in the consumer and school markets," Noyes said. "In addition, we will have a well-funded business that can continue to grow rapidly without depending on additional investment capital."