Hello Kitty Items

Every so often, a cultural phenomenon occurs and causes a huge marketing bonanza. The Hello Kitty character came out of Japan in the 1970s as a cute little, white cat that would appeal to young girls. Since then, she has become popular around the world, particularly in America. The number of Hello Kitty items has mushroomed over the years. The initial product was a purse followed by other items of interest to young females.

There is a whole inner world in the land of Kitty with friends and relatives and a boyfriend called Dear Daniel. Kitty's name is taken from Lewis Carroll's book, Through the Looking Glass, in which the heroine Alice keeps a cat called Kitty. This was chosen because of the popularity of British children's literature in Japan.

There are more than 22,000 products now and the range has spread to teenagers and some adults are buying Hello Kitty items, especially in her native Japan. Some Japanese brides even get married in Hello Kitty wedding dresses! The cat's popularity in the US increased in the last ten years or so after several celebrities were spotted sporting her logo. The character was suddenly extremely fashionable. This led to the singer Lisa Loeb promoting a specially designed Hello Kitty Stratocaster electric guitar in 2006, available in pink or black. The guitar, manufactured by Squier, has a pickguard fashioned in the image of the cat's head. Other products available in the US include cosmetics, posters, stickers and jewelry. There are stores, which sell Hello Kitty items exclusively.

In addition to the DVDs of the anime television series broadcast in Japan and America featuring the cat, there is Kitty stationary, clothing, dolls, greeting cards and food items. The logo even appears on cars, computers and a MasterCard debit card. Electronic games featuring the character come in formats for Nintendo, Sony Play Station, X-Box and for PCs. Kitty even has a pet cat of her own, called Charmmy Kitty and a pet hamster known as Sugar. A new range of Hello Kitty items was launched in 2005 when products appeared for the dog market. At least, dog owners could buy dog carriers and beds, boots, accessories and sportswear. A cat logo is maybe not the first choice of the dogs themselves! All the items are common sights in our stores now and it is a success story that is probably unrivalled, involving a children's character that has been taken up by the adult world.

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