Hello Kitty proves action speaks louder than words
Hello Kitty does not have a mouth. She
speaks with her heart.
Worldwide
novelty ‘Hello Kitty’ had Singaporeans queuing up and tussling over a limited
edition toy kitten dressed in skeleton outfit from a German fairy tale known as
‘The Singing Bones’. McDonald’s Singapore sold the toy, as the last in a series
of six, which began early June. The last frenzy was Hello Kitty dressed in wedding
attire in 2000.
Despite
having stocked up on 40% more on collectible Hello Kitty toys this year and
limiting each customer to only 4 toys each, McDonald’s claim that the response
for the Fairy Tale series had been overwhelming.
The
fast-food chain announced last Thursday that the iconic toy had been sold out,
much to the disappointment and frustration of many enthusiastic collectors who
braved the haze in an attempt to get their hands on the plush toy.
Singapore wasn't
the only country bogged by this phenomenon. Malaysia at one point was hit
by the Hello Kitty fever in the 90’s. People argued over toys, jumped queues
and made a commotion when the collectible went out of stock. Why do people
react in such a way? Admittedly, these toys fetch a high resale value.
The
toys were sold at S$4.60 (US$3.63) each but resellers are putting out bids at
eBay, some starting from as high as US$79.90. ‘Stomp’ Singapore, an online
urban lifestyle website reported last week that the winning bid was S$126,000
(US$99,471) for a set of the Fairy Tale series which includes the skeleton outfit
kitty.
McDonald’s
Singapore in its Facebook page declared disapproval of resellers profiting from
the highly sought after collector’s item but is unable to do much beyond
removing adverts from their page and admonishing their staff to
misappropriation.
Although
crazed fans sought out these memorabilia not unlike hysteria, some people are
not even aware of it and termed it as an “outlandishly childish” display.
Hello from Japan
7-11
convenient stores nationwide in Malaysia are currently having a Hello Kitty
promotion to collect 20 different trinkets and a chance to win entry tickets
into the Hello Kitty Town in Johor. The promotion ends on 8 September 2013.
Selected outlets also carry Hello Kitty bracelets priced at RM15.90 (US$5).
Presently
there are three Hello Kitty theme parks in the world – Sanrio Puroland in
Tokyo; Harmonyland in Kyushu; and Sanrio Hello Kitty Town, within the Puteri
Harbour Theme Park in Johor, Malaysia. Sanrio Hello Kitty Town is the only
character theme park located outside of Japan. Puteri Harbour Theme Park houses
Legoland as well.
In
Taiwan, there is a Hello Kitty themed restaurant and a maternity hospital too.
The
Hello Kitty trademark also expanded into the wine market in 2009 to engage
adult fans. Other than that, Hello Kitty can also be found in TV shows, video
games and music.
Hello
Kitty corporate partners include EVA Airways, Taiwan. In October 2005, EVA air
launched a commercial passenger plane dubbed Hello Kitty Jet in an attempt to
boost the declining tourism industry in the country. While the original Hello
Kitty Jet retired in 2009, EVA reintroduced three Hello Kitty jets in 2011 to
mark the carrier’s 20th anniversary. In 2012, two more A330 Hello
Kitty jets were added to ply the skies, dubbed ‘Hello Kitty Speed Puff’ and
‘Hello Kitty Happy Music’.
Hello
Kitty products are sold worldwide through franchise stores and partner
businesses. Besides genuine and licensed Sanrio products, Hello Kitty and
friends have been spotted on many unofficial items, acknowledging that
imitation is indeed the best form of flattery.
Sales
of Hello Kitty merchandise account for more than half of its total turnover of
about US$1 billion. Sanrio is currently listed in Japan’s Nikkei and was last
traded at US$48.05 during closing on June 29.
The Hello Kitty Story
Hello
Kitty by Sanrio was created by Japanese designer, Yuko Shimizo in 1974 and was
brought over to the USA in 1976. The moon-faced white kitty with a pink bow
first made her first appearance on a vinyl purse and was targeted at pre-teen
girls. Sanrio provided Hello Kitty with a British identity together with a
birthdate, November 1, an identical twin sister named Mimmy, and a hobby of
baking cookies. In 2008, Hello Kitty was
appointed as Japan’s tourism ambassador to Hong Kong, China and South Korea.
The adorable cat is also, since 1983, the United States children’s ambassador
for Unicef.
According
to Sanrio, the Hello Kitty trademark adorns 50,000 different products, ranging
from fashion like bags, accessories, and clothing to stationaries for school
and office; and decorative and electronic items for home and kitchen. It caters
to audiences for mass market items to rare collectibles.
Hello
Kitty was created based on an inspiration from Lewis Carrol’s ‘Through the
Looking Glass’. In a scene at the beginning of the book, main character Alice
played with a kitten named Kitty. Though simplistic looking, the kawaii Japanese pop-culture is appealing
and has certainly made its mark in the world. Even without a mouth, Hello Kitty
speaks volume.