Feline Groovy
She’s a cool cat who’s purred for 25 years, and--get this--she doesn’t even have a mouth, a subject that has generated humorous chat on some 200 Web sites devoted to the furry, Japan-born feline known as Hello Kitty.
The cartoon character, whose image appears on everything from toys to toasters, has a global following. “She continues to grow because she’s become so much a part of people’s lifestyles,” with as many as 100 new Hello Kitty items produced monthly, says Bill Hensley, marketing manager with San Francisco-based Sanrio Inc., a subsidiary of Sanrio Limited, the kitty’s parent company in Tokyo.
It was in Tokyo in 1960 when the company’s president and chief executive, Shintaro Tsuji, launched Sanrio to provide merchandise for the popular Japanese custom of exchanging small gifts, analogous to the U.S. custom of exchanging greeting cards.
In 1974, Tsuji customized the idea with a line that would appeal to children. Only Hello Kitty, with her dark oval eyes, wide-set whiskers and bow took off.
“In Sanrio’s history we have marketed 400 different characters, but it was Hello Kitty that became a superstar with kids,” Hensley says.
Kendall Kozai, 12, and a seventh-grader at Brentwood Middle School, is a big fan.
“I remember as a little kid that I started liking Hello Kitty,” says Kendall, who has everything from Hello Kitty pajamas to purses to backpacks.
These days, Kendall favors Hello Kitty items such as pens, pencils and organizers she can use for school. She also collects Miss Kitty’s pals: Badtz Maru, the bad boy penguin, Pochacco, the playful pup, and Keroppi, the big-eyed frog.
“I have a lot of bags in the different characters and sweatshirts and T-shirts,” she says. So does her little sister, Kassidy, 8, a second-grader at Brentwood Elementary.
But it’s not only kids who are sold on the kitty icon.These days, Hensley reports that young women find Hello Kitty just as alluring. Model Tyra Banks and other celebs have accessorized their looks with itty-bitty beaded Hello Kitty bags ($15).
The doll also has become a marketing vehicle for all kinds of products, including laptop computers and even a car in Japan, because of the big bucks the fat cat can bring in.
Hello Kitty dolls and related products generated more than $1.1 billion in revenues for Sanrio in the company’s last fiscal year. Toy stores carry selected merchandise. And this year, Hello Kitty household items--toasters, waffle makers and boom boxes--are available at Target stores. But for basic feline items such as stationery, wallets and backpacks, 40 free-standing Sanrio Surprises stores are located in regional malls.
* On Saturday, Hello Kitty celebrates her anniversary at local stores. Information at Web site https://www.sanrio.com.
* Michael Quintanilla can be reached by e-mail at michael.quintanilla@latimes.com.
