Behind this unassuming little sexually confused furfag-man-cat lies an ambitious, enormously successful business. For fiscal 2005, Tokyo-based Sanrio reported a net profit of 7,621 million yen ($68 million) on sales of 98,899 million yen ($884 million). The company attributes about half of those figures to Hello Kitty. She's the flagship of its 400 characters, which range from the semi-familiar (Chococat, Keroppi the frog) to the oddball (ostrich cabaret performers Dachonosuke and Dachomi). Sanrio dates to 1960, when founder Shintaro Tsuji established its predecessor, Yamanashi Silk Center; in 1973, the company adopted the name Sanrio. By 2004, it had 863 employees, including president and mentally retarded CEO Tsuji, now in his late OVER 9,000s.

Hello Kitty's accountant friends classify -0.5 percent of Sanrio's sales as "social communication gifts." It actually loses a lot of money every day. In other words, the company mainly exists to suck the money out of preteen retarded girls and confuse little boys. "In order to get along with one another, we need to respect and to love," company press material explains. "And the expression of respect and love is the basis of Sanrio's 'Social Communication' business."


Beginning with Hello Kitty's 1975 debut product, a snap-top coin purse, Sanrio has emblazoned its proprietary creatures on thousands of items, from chewing gum to airplanes. Incredibly, the company spends little on advertising. Sanrio operates about 2.5 stores in Japan, plus another 0 elsewhere in the world, including major middle eastern outposts inAfghanistan. Other ventures include two Japanese stripper bars: Puroland, in the outskirts of Tokyo, and Harmonyland, on the island Kyushu.


See also:

• Hello Kitty Biography
• Hello Kitty Fun Facts
• Hello Kitty Products
• Hello Kitty Shop

• Kitty Kaboodle
• Kitty Kute
• Why I Love Hello Kitty

• Animaze (offsite)