It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

BELATED HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY TO HELLO KITTY

Born in 1974, the furry feline turns the big 3-0 in November. That's an eternity in show business and puts Kitty alongside other global cartoon stalwarts like Snoopy, Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. Year in and year out, she nets her owners at Sanrio about $500 million in revenue and helps generate billions more for those who license her image.

But storm clouds loom on the horizon:

While this formula will likely work well for generations of young girls, Sanrio faces several daunting challenges keeping Kitty's flame glowing. The number of youngsters in Japan is falling fast, and in the cool logic of the toy industry, that means fewer kids to buy Kitty cell phones, Kitty dolls and Kitty boomboxes.

Kitty is also under attack from legions of rip-off artists, particularly in China, the world capital of fake goods. Sanrio has a team of ten lawyers working around the clock to ferret out fakes. As any brand goods maker knows, the battle is never won. The sad fact is that the company loses an estimated ¥100 billion ($910 million) because of fake Kitty goods, according to Sanrio's legal beagles.

UPDATE: Kevin at Big Hominid's Hairy Chasms says that this post pushes him over the edge. Hello Kitty has been called many things but I have to admit that "cultural goiter" is one of the more imaginative.