BEIJING, April 21, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNET) ("ChinaNet" or the "Company"), a leading B2B (business to business) Internet technology company providing online-to-offline (O2O) sales channel expansion services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurial management and networking services for entrepreneurs in the People's Republic of China, announced today that it successfully proven a new revenue model with customers that includes a cash investment in addition to offering its total solution of products and services with pilot SME Beijing Saturday Educational Technology Co., Ltd.
Founded in 2000, "Saturday Children's" theme park (Saturday Children's) is one of the country's first indoor children's theme parks and is owned and operated by Beijing Saturday Educational Technology Co., Ltd. (Beijing Saturday). Saturday Children's integrated portfolio of children's brands include clothing, theme parks, games, cartoons, 3D photography, cartoon animation, children's education and more. Saturday Children's brand is a vertically integrated operation including R&D, design, manufacturing, and sales aligned to promote its more than 700 indoor children's theme parks. More information about the company is available at http://www.xql520.com.cn/.
In the third quarter of 2014 ChinaNet committed a cash investment for an approximately 10% ownership stake in Beijing Saturday. It would be ChinaNet's first investment based on the profitability and market circumstances analysis from our big data analysis system. ChinaNet cooperated with the company to expand Saturday Children's theme parks in China. ChinaNet provided Beijing Saturday full support to enhance Saturday Children's with brand management, brand channel expansion, marketing and advanced marketing chain management systems. The Company helped to properly manage each franchise store through its management system and used Baidu Wallet to facilitate online payment. ChinaNet is also currently implementing its new "Business Direct 3.0" service with Beijing Saturday. The service will use Baidu Direct Reach mobile platform to attract customers online through mobile search, accounts, maps, personalized recommendations and other ways to direct these online attentions to offline stores and create revenue. More information can be referred to http://msh.baidu.com/6fHYx1pHm72d. ChinaNet will charge on the using of the system, O2O advertising fee and transaction fee for online payment.
Beijing Saturday was chosen as the pilot company to prove the new revenue model because of its effective management team and potential. China's theme park industry has exhibited strong growth, with a 40 percent growth rate in visitor numbers since third quarter 2014. Chinese children and their families are embracing theme parks like Saturday Children's with their story telling, exciting rides, educational programs and branded merchandise. Saturday Children's focus on third and fourth-tier cities has helped to create strong demand and it expects to open 600 new parks in 2015 with the help of ChinaNet.
"More and more high-quality brands are expanding in the Chinese market through the ChinaNet platform," said George Chu, Chief Operating Officer of ChinaNet Online Holdings. "Since its collaboration with ChinaNet, Saturday Children's has opened 300 stores, and the turnover has grown 45%. In partnering with these types of strong companies, we have also sought opportunities where our experience and capital strength can assist the business to expand its market share. With a strategic investment, ChinaNet can share in the revenue growth to achieve a win-win outcome. After this initial success, we will continue to focus on the industry's premier franchise brands and seek investment opportunities with quality brands that will further enhance ChinaNet's investment income."
About ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc.
The Company, a parent company of ChinaNet Online Media Group Ltd., incorporated in the BVI ("ChinaNet"), is a leading digital B2B (business to business) Internet technology company focusing on providing O2O sales channel expansion service for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurial management and networking service for entrepreneurs in China. The Company, through certain contractual arrangements with operating companies in the PRC, provides Internet advertising and other services for Chinese SMEs via its portal websites, 28.com, Liansuo.com and Chuangye.com, TV commercials and program production via China-Net TV, and in-house LCD advertising on banking kiosks targeting Chinese banking patrons. Website: http://www.chinanet-online.com.
Safe Harbor
This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc., which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including business uncertainties relating to government regulation of our industry, market demand, reliance on key personnel, future capital requirements, competition in general and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are or will be described in greater detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on ChinaNet's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting ChinaNet will be those anticipated by ChinaNet. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the Company) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. ChinaNet undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.