Hello Kitty enterprise gets new boss after 60 years
13 June, 2020
The founder of the firm behind Hello Kitty is stepping down aged 92 and handing the reins to his 31-year-old grandson -- the first change in leadership in the business's six-decade history.
Tokyo-founded Sanrio, which created the ubiquitous pink-bowed character in 1974, announced in Friday that Shintaro Tsuji would retire as president and complete the torch to Tomokuni, who was simply senior managing director.
Coincidentally, the new boss shares his birthday with Hello Kitty -- November 1 -- but is 14 years younger. He'll end up being the youngest CEO of a firm posted on Tokyo's Topix index.
Shintaro's son Kunihiko died of heart failure in 2013.
In line with the firm's official background, Shintaro Tsuji developed the forerunner to Sanrio, called Yamanashi Silk Centre Co Ltd, in 1960 in Tokyo.
It changed its brand in 1973 to Sanrio and created its initially character goods a time later, using Hello Kitty and the duo Jimmy and Patty.
The first Hello Kitty item, a coin purse, was merchandised in 1975 and the character has since adorned everything from bullet trains to handbags. Hello Kitty also has its own popular theme park.
To the surprise of fans, Sanrio stated in 2014 the feline-inspired figure had not been actually a cat but a "happy little girl", sparking uproar from Internet surfers who spluttered: "But she's got whiskers!"
The change at the very top comes at a difficult time for Sanrio, whose organization has been declining for several years and has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to its benefits also published on Fri, annual net gains plunged simply by 95 percent in the 2019/2020 fiscal year. Revenue had been down 6.5 percent at 55.2 billion yen or $514 million.
Source: japantoday.com
TAG(s):