Notes
Preface and Acknowledgments 1. Within the United States, my travels have been extensive, although not all of the travels have been focused on Hello Kitty. The list of places outside the United States includes Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlán; Vancouver; Buenos Aires; São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro; London; Paris; Rome, Florence, Siena, and Venice; Berlin and Heidelberg; Beijing; Seoul; Delhi; Kathmandu; and Bangkok. 2. Although the South San Francisco office is still important, since around 2010, U.S. operations have shifted increasingly to Sanrio offices in Los Angeles. Also, Nakajima USA has increasingly taken over control of many of the Sanrio stores and operations in the United States, beginning in 1988 but with greater definition since 2004, when it became the principal licensee and primary partner of Sanrio boutique stores. 3. Sanrio stores in Japan give away a free newsletter, Ichigo Shimbun (Strawberry news), which provides information on new items for sale. Sanrio in Japan also publishes a quarterly glossy magazine Kitty Goods Collection, with new products, events, fan comments, and articles at a cost of 600 – 700 yen each ($7.25 – $8.50). 4. Since 2010, Sanrio has been selling their own doc-certified (Vino a Denominazione di Origine Controllata) Hello Kitty wine with the tagline “Our favorite girl has grown up.” According to Drew Hibbert, ceo for Innovation Spirits, which distributes the wines in the United States, “Hello Kitty Wines were originally conceived by Camomilla S.p.A. which is a very successful fashion company in Italy that does a huge amount of business manufacturing and selling Hello Kitty licensed merchandise in Italy and beyond. Camomilla S.p.A. partnered up with Torti ‘Tenimenti Castelrotto’ boutique Italian winery located in the highly regarded Lombardy wine region” (Alimrung 2010). Here are the tasting notes for the four varieties of Hello Kitty wines:
