Transcripts

"Last Word"-Hello Kitty Celebrates A Milestone

JEFF YASTINE: And finally tonight, she's one of the world's most famous felines and a legend in the worldwide business of licensed goods. The Hello Kitty franchise now reaches across 60 countries. Lucy Craft recently spent a day dodging paparazzi with the celebrity cat and has this report from Tokyo.

LUCY CRAFT, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Hello Kitty has hit the ripe old age of 34, but her paws are still all over a mega-business worth almost $1 billion. Kitty is just one of about a dozen uber-cute creatures from the Sanrio Corporation, but Kitty remains the unchallenged diva of them all, her whiskered mug driving more than half the profits of the Tokyo-based character goods firm. Entrepreneur Shintaro Tsuji, inspired by Hallmark greeting cards and the success of the Peanuts cartoon franchise, decided to dream up his own stable of cuddly characters. Kitty back then was just another cute cat.

TRANSLATION OF: SHINTARO TSUJI, FOUNDER & CEO, SANRIO CORP.: I did a survey of the world's most popular animals. First was dogs, then cats -- white ones -- and bears were number three. At first, we had a bear named Koro, a character named Honey Bunny, and Hello kitty. Honey Bunny was my favorite, but somehow Kitty became the hit.

CRAFT: Sanrio credits Kitty's staying power with the fact that her mouth has never been drawn in, leaving her face open to interpretation. Her wardrobe and sidekicks are meticulously styled to keep her au courant. Kitty's story line says she comes from England, but from red bow to tail, by temperament she's an Asian pure breed.

TSUJI: American cartoons tend to be modern and humorous, rather than straightforward cute. Kitty, of course, moves around, but she doesn't do handstands or jump all over the place. She's quiet, refined and mature.

CRAFT: Hello Kitty began life as a plush toy and a character used to festoon juvenile stationery. But as toys and stationery become dime store commodities, Kitty is being packaged for just about any age, gender, or pocketbook, from infants to octogenarians. Her visage graces canes, computers, and cappuccino makers -- nearly 50,000 products at any given time.

This Broadway-style musical to tour China, showcases the new and improved Hello Kitty. Along with the standard cutesy characters, it shows plenty of leg -- think "Barney" meets "A Chorus Line." While the company eschews tobacco, hard liquor or violent content, just about anything else is fair game for a kitty logo and the lucrative royalties that go with it, including Victoria's Secret-style lingerie, designer handbags and rhinestone bling-bling. Still, is the world really ready for Hello Kitty for men? Ready or not, a Kitty menswear line is set to debut in January.

TSUJI: We sell things people don't need: birthday gifts, get well gifts, anniversary presents and souvenirs. That's the kind of business we've evolved into. Our rivals have largely gone under, so we think we'll get a big boost out of this Christmas season.

CRAFT: One group that isn't purring over Hello Kitty these days, shareholders of the Kitty's corporate parent, Sanrio. Sanrio's sales and profits have been sliding in recent years. The company blames tepid demand here in Japan and vows to restore growth by focusing on overseas markets, like Russia, China and India. Lucy Craft, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Tokyo.