Sanrio's Hello Kitty Pynkiss Label Celebrates a Year of Stratospheric Success in a Fiercely Competitive Global Market

Sanrio's Hello Kitty Pynkiss Label Celebrates a Year of Stratospheric Success in a Fiercely Competitive Global Market PR Newswire LONDON, October 8, 2012 LONDON, October 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Since her birth in the early 70's Hello Kitty has become a billion dollar a year brand, but it is only in the last year Sanrio's brand has moved into the world of high end fashion, with its Milan based Pynkiss label. Since then the brand's innovative, experiential, multi-channel 'shoppertainment' approach has seen Pynkiss shortlisted for The Field Marketing and Brand Experience Awards 2012 and the stratospheric global growth of the high end Pynkiss label has taken even the brand owners and licensors, Sanrio, by surprise. Pynkiss, first launched at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, has since opened a raft of stores in the Middle East and Asia fuelled by demand from stockists and franchisees. Pynkiss has ambitious plans to expand its global presence further, with more stores set to open in the US, Europe and Asia. The stores that have already opened have had their shelves stripped bare within hours, and the flagship stores had to restock twice within the first 3 days of trading. For a business only one year old, Pynkiss has performed exceptionally well against global retail projections. In 2011 the global retail market saw composite retail growth of 5.3% for established brands and Pynkiss has conformed to growth trends achieving a 4.