Animation Blog

Hello Kitty has yet again acquired its latest and biggest endorsement with a character licensing deal with the giant apparel company Zara.

Sanrio Corporation of Japan, the holder of the copyright of the beloved cartoon, has entered a licensing deal for the beloved cat’s image for worldwide affiliation with the Zara operator Inditex. By late April, Hello Kitty’s likeness will be seen in Zara stores everywhere from clothing for adults to household

Japan’s foremost ambassador of the ‘Hello Kitty’ brand character is about to get its biggest endorsement yet from apparel giant Zara.

Hello Kitty merchandise now constitute 50% of Saniro’s GBP500m (US$732.8m) annual turnover and her character adorns 50,000 products, sold in more than 60 countries.

Hello Kitty is one of the best-known of many animated fictional characters produced by the Japanese company Sanrio. It was designed by Ikuko Shimizu for use in a vinyl coin purse which was introduced in Japan in 1974, and then later in the United States in 1976.

The Hello Kitty brand has then since engaged in many character licensing arrangements worth more than $1 billion a year in sales. Examples of products include dolls, stickers, greeting cards, clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes, home appliances and video games. Sanrio Puroland is the official theme park of Sanrio featuring Hello Kitty and her friends.