Hello Kitty is a fictional character made by the Japanese company Sanrio, first created by Yuko Shimizu. She is portrayed as a woman white Japanese bobtail cat having a red bow. The character’s initial appearance on an item, a vinyl coin purse, has been around since Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States in 1976. The character is a staple of the kawaii portion of Japanese popular lifestyle.
The Hello Kitty hallmark has spread globally; Sanrio attained over $1 billion annually in sales outside of Japan, by 2003. Although mainly aimed at the pre-adolescent female market, the actual Hello Kitty product range goes all the way from purses, stickers and pen sets in order to toasters, televisions, clothing, massagers, and computer equipment. It has a cult-like pursuing among adults as well, especially in Asia, where Hello Kitten adorns cars, purses, jewelry and many other high-end consumer products. Several Hello Kitty TV series, targeted towards young kids, have also been produced. Examples of goods depicting the character include toys, stickers, greeting cards, clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes and also home appliances. Her fame being a recurring Sanrio character has resulted in the creation of two officially certified Hello Kitty theme parks, Harmonyland and also the indoor Sanrio Puroland.
