Shintaro Tsuji, the 92 year old founder of the company that created Hello Kitty is to say bye bye Kitty after sixty years as Sanrio Chief Executive, handing over control to his grandson, Tomokuni Tsuji.
Since she was created in 1974 and made her debut on a vinyl coin purse a year later, Hello Kitty has appeared on everything from sneakers and paper towels to chopsticks and panini makers. The cartoon cat’s appeal was instrumental in spreading “kawaii” Japanese pop culture overseas.
However, Sanrio has faced trouble growing its licensing business in recent years: The ratio of global royalty fees to sales dropped 11% in the 2019 fiscal year from a year earlier.Sanrio, meanwhile, has grown into a retail and entertainment behemoth with amusement parks and restaurants in Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom.Tomokuni Tsuji, meanwhile, already has a special connection with Hello Kitty: They share the same birthday, November 1. Tomokuni is 14 years younger.
