In 1962, Shintaro Tsuji, founder of Sanrio, began selling rubber sandals with flowers painted on them.^[12] Tsuji noted the profits gained by adding a cute design to the sandals and hired cartoonists to design cute characters for his merchandise.^[12] The company produced a line of character merchandise around gift-giving occasions.^[13] Hello Kitty was designed by Yuko Shimizu and was added to the lineup of early Sanrio characters in 1974.^[5] The character's first appearance on an item was a vinyl coin purse in Japan where she was pictured sitting between a bottle of milk and a goldfish bowl.^[14] She first appeared in the United States in 1976.^[4]
Sanrio decided to make Hello Kitty British because at the time when she was created, foreign countries, in particular Britain, were trendy in Japan. In addition, Sanrio already had a number of characters set in the US and they wanted Hello Kitty to be different.^[6][15] Shimizu got the name Kitty from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, where in a scene early in the book Alice plays with a cat she calls Kitty.^[16] Sanrio's motto is "social communication" and Tsuji wanted the brand name of the cat to reflect that. He first considered "Hi Kitty" before settling on "Hello" for the greeting.^[17] Spokespeople for Sanrio have said that Hello Kitty does not have a mouth because they want people to "project their feelings onto the character" and "be happy or sad together with Hello Kitty."^[6][18] Another explanation Sanrio has given for her lack of a mouth is that she "speaks from the heart. She's Sanrio's ambassador to the world and isn't bound to any particular language".^[15] Representatives for Sanrio have said they see Hello Kitty as a symbol of friendship, and they hope she will encourage friendship between people across the world.^[6] There has been some suggestion^{[by whom?]} that Hello Kitty has its origins in Maneki Neko, and that the name Hello Kitty itself is a back-translation of Maneki Neko, which means beckoning cat in English.

History

Hello Kitty sold well immediately after the 1974 launch, and Sanrio's sales increased seven times up until they slumped temporarily in 1978.^[6][19] New series with Hello Kitty in different themed designs are released regularly, following current trends. Yuko Yamaguchi, the main designer for most of Hello Kitty's history, has said that she is inspired by fashion, movies and TV in creating new designs.^[6][19]
Hello Kitty was originally marketed only to young girls. In the 1990s the target market for Hello Kitty was broadened to include teens and grown-ups as a retro brand.^[6][15] Marketed to those who could not get Hello Kitty merchandise as children, or who fondly remembers items they had, Sanrio began selling Hello Kitty branded products like purses and laptops.^[6][15][19] The 1994-1996 Face series was the first to be designed for a more mature appeal.^[6]
According to Sanrio, in 1999 Hello Kitty appeared on 12,000 different products yearly.^[17] By 2008, Hello Kitty was responsible for half of Sanrio's $1 billion revenue and there were over 50,000 different Hello Kitty branded products in more than 60 countries.^[15] Beginning in 2007, following trends in Japan, Sanrio began using darker designs for Hello Kitty with more black and less pink, and pulling away from kawaii styles.^[19]

Products

The Hello Kitty Airbus A330-200.

Originally aimed at the pre-adolescent female market, the Hello Kitty product range has expanded and goes all the way from dolls, stickers, greeting cards, clothes, accessories, school supplies and stationery to purses, toasters, televisions, other home appliances, massagers, and computer equipment. These products range from mass market items to high-end consumer products and rare collectibles.^[20]

Financial

As of 2009, Bank of America began offering Hello Kitty-themed checking accounts, where the account holder can get cheques and a Visa debit card with Kitty's face on it.^[21] MasterCard debit cards have featured Hello Kitty as a design since 2004.^[22]

High-end

Sanrio Shop in Madrid, Spain with the Hello Kitty character outline as the entryway

Sanrio and various corporate partners have released Hello Kitty-branded products, including the Hello Kitty Stratocaster electric guitar (since 2006, with Fender in the US) and even an Airbus A330-200 commercial passenger jet airliner, dubbed the Hello Kitty Jet (2005–2009, with EVA Airways in Taiwan).^[23] In late 2011 and early 2012, EVA Air revived their "Hello Kitty Jets" with their 3 new A330-300s. However, due to high demand, the airline added 2 more onto their existing A330-200s in mid-2012.
2009 marked the collaboration between apparel and accessory Kitty entered the wine market with collection made up of four wines available for purchase online, continuing an expansion of products targeted at older audiences.^[24]

Jewelry

In Spring 2005, Simmons Jewelry Co. and Sanrio announced a co-branded jewelery licensed partnership. “Kimora Lee Simmons for Hello Kitty” was launched exclusively at Neiman Marcus prices ranging from $300 to $5000 Designed by Kimora Lee Simmons and launched as the initial collection. The jewelery is all hand-made, consisting of diamonds, gemstones, semi-precious stones, 18K gold, Sterling silver, enamel and ceramic.^[25]
In Fall 2008, Simmons Jewelry Co. and Sanrio debuted a collection of fine jewelry and watches named “Hello Kitty® by Simmons Jewelry Co." The collection launched with Zales Corporation to further expand the reach of the brand, and it developed accessories to satisfy every Hello Kitty fan. The designs incorporate colorful gemstones and sterling silver to attract a youthful audience with retail prices starting at $50.^[26]

Establishments

Hello Kitty cafe in Hongdae, Seoul

There is a themed restaurant named Hello Kitty Sweets in Taipei, Taiwan. The restaurant's decor and many of its dishes are patterned after the Hello Kitty character.^[27][28]
In 2008, a Hello Kitty-themed maternity hospital opened in Yuanlin, Taiwan. Hello Kitty is featured on the receiving blankets, room decor, bed linens, birth certificate covers, and nurses' uniforms. The hospital's owner explained that he hoped that the theme would help ease the stress of childbirth.^[29][30]
Hello Kitty is included as part of the Sanrio livery at the Japanese theme parks Harmonyland and Sanrio Puroland.
There is also a Hello Kitty Cafe, located on an uphill alley off Eoulmadang-ro, the main shopping thoroughfare in Hongdae, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea.^[31] It is one of several locations in the country.

Media

Animated series

There have been several different Hello Kitty TV series. The first animated television series was Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater which was 13 episodes long and aired in 1987. The next, an OVA titled Hello Kitty and Friends, came out in 1993 and was also 13 episodes long. Hello Kitty's Paradise came out in 1999 and was 16 episodes long. Hello Kitty's Stump Village came out in 2005 and The Adventures of Hello Kitty & Friends came out in 2006 and has aired 52 episodes.
KISS Hello Kitty is a forthcoming American animated TV series, that will premiere on Hub Network. Gene Simmons, bassist of the band KISS, is slated to be an executive producer for the series.^[32] No cast or release date has been announced yet.
Hello Kitty's Paradise was a long-running live action children's program that aired on TXN from January 1999 to March 2011. It was the longest-running weekly kids television program in the network's history. In January 2011, the show's creators mutually agreed to end the series after twelve seasons, with the final episode being broadcast on March 29.

Music

Hello Kitty has her own branded album, Hello World, featuring Hello Kitty-inspired songs performed by a collection of artists, including Keke Palmer, Cori Yarckin, and Ainjel Emme.^[33]
Hello Kitty was also chosen by AH-Software to be the basis of the new Vocaloid Nekomura Iroha (猫村いろは Nekomura iroha^?)^[34] to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sanrio.^[35]
Canadian singer-songwriter has written and recorded a song called 'Hello Kitty' for her 5th studio album released in 2013.

Video games

Numerous Hello Kitty games have been produced since the release of the first title for NES in 1992; however, the majority of these games were never released outside of Japan. Hello Kitty also has made cameo appearances in games featuring other Sanrio characters, such as the Keroppi game, Kero Kero Keroppi no Bōken Nikki: Nemureru Mori no Keroleen. Special edition consoles such as the Hello Kitty Dreamcast, Hello Kitty Game Boy Pocket, and Hello Kitty Crystal Xbox have also been released exclusively in Japan.