Behind this unassuming little 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 CEO Tsuji, now in his late 70s.

Hello Kitty's accountant friends classify 91.5 percent of Sanrio's sales as "social communication gifts." In other words, the company mainly exists to provide trinkets that convey good feelings between acquaintances, friends, and family. The products fulfill the Japanese custom of bestowing small gifts at even minor occasions, or just to bring a smile. "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."

A parody Hello Kitty brand which is aimed at poking fun at the Japanese tradtion was created in 2006 called Goodbye Kitty. Whilst not officially recognized by Sanrio, the Goodbye Kitty brand has become extremely fashionable for westerners who've grown jaded with Hello Kitty's cutesy designs.

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 1,700 stores in Japan, plus another 1,200 elsewhere in the world, including major U.S. outposts in San Francisco and New York. Other ventures include two Japanese theme parks: Puroland, in the outskirts of Tokyo, and Harmonyland, on the island Kyushu.


See also:

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

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

• Animaze (offsite)