Unless you are from another planet, you are familiar with the charming feline character that defines the Hello Kitty brand. But did you know that this sweet little kitten is actually 41 years old?
Produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, Hello Kitty is portrayed as a white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow. Her first appearance was on a vinyl coin purse, introduced in Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States in 1976. Last year, when Hello Kitty turned 40, the brand did $7 billion, all without any advertising.
Hello Kitty may be little, but she thinks big. Now, Sanrio is taking over operation of the brand’s retail stores in the U.S. To accomplish this, Sanrio has partnered with KWI.
In keeping with their choice of a technology leader, the existing Hello Kitty stores will be mobile-only operations, utilizing the KWI Cloud 9 Mobile Platform. Each store will have two mobile devices to assist customers and complete sales anywhere on the selling floor. KWI Merchandising and Merchant Services will be part of their enterprise class solution.
Originally aimed at pre-adolescent females, Hello Kitty’s market has broadened to include adult consumers. She can be found on a variety of products ranging from school supplies to fashion accessories and high-end consumer products. Hello Kitty is also the main character at the two Japanese Sanrio theme parks: Harmonyland and the indoor Sanrio Puroland.
Sanrio plans to use KWI capabilities to expand their retail chain within the U.S. Needless to say, we are purring with delight for this opportunity to partner with this global brand in support of their growth plans and initiatives.