Who owns hello kitty brand

Sales were also down 6. Hello Kitty-branded products are sold in countries worldwide, with the range extending from prosecco to plimsolls. Although the brand typifies the Japanese trend for "kawaii" or cuteness, the character itself is identified as British because when she was created in the s British culture was fashionable in Japan.

Hello Kitty bullet train unveiled in Japan. Meet Hello Kitty's biggest fan. Hello Kitty heads to Hollywood. Image source, AFP. Shintaro Tsuji has been at the helm of Sanrio for more than six decades. Mr Tsuji will formally leave his role on 1 July. A company at a turning point. Hello Kitty-branded products are sold around the world and its image has even featured on a bullet train.

A secret Hello Kitty museum in L. Rivian CEO: We're focused on meeting demand. Beeple: Digital art is here to stay, but buyers should be cautious. Airbnb co-founder: We think travel is forever changed. GE changed our lives. What went wrong? Maersk CEO: Port bottlenecks won't improve anytime soon.

Crypto: The future of money or the biggest scam? The US economy added , jobs in October. See director's response. Watch this robot take over a fry station. Matt Damon: Clean water access frees up time for school. One of the important factors that differentiates Hello Kitty in the world of cartoons and characters is that Hello Kitty is not alive with stories, gimmicks or a pre-determined personality before it reaches people. By being a simple cartoon with very minimal characteristics, the Hello Kitty brand actually acts as a canvas upon which people can decorate with their own embellishments, thereby personalizing the cartoon, giving it a unique personality and internalizing the cartoon into their lives.

This simple, yet powerful differentiator sets the Hello Kitty brand apart from competitors. Instead of treading the path of consistency and standard design usage, a brand that constantly changes in response to the needs of the consumers and of the society at large, will have greater chances of becoming an icon.

Hello Kitty has followed that path. Through simple sparse lines and the bow as a constant, the cartoon has many versions, many colors, many characters that are related to Hello Kitty and a diverse set of products which carry the logo. These elements reinforce excitement about the brand and allow people to constantly build a loyal collection of Hello Kitty branded items. Swarovski has an entire line of products dedicated to Hello Kitty.

Since , MasterCard has featured Hello Kitty on its debit cards. The endorsement of Hello Kitty from these other popular lifestyle brands definitely helps add equity points to the brand, leading to its immense popularity worldwide.

Asian consumers express almost fanatical devotions to the Hello Kitty cartoon character and brand. Hello Kitty has its own theme park in Tokyo, which is a huge success among the Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese.

Many Hello Kitty products also have become valuable collectibles — some items are valued at thousands of dollars and sold at eBay and other similar auctions. The marketing scarcity principle is employed strategically so every new item is only produced in small numbers and new Hello Kitty products are displayed regularly across all global stores luring consumers to add those items to their collection.