JAKKS Pacific, famous for their extremely popular WWE Wrestling and Pokemon toys, has acquired the North American rights to Hello Kitty.
MALIBU, Calif.—Sanrio has appointed Jakks Pacific as its principal North American toy licensee for the Hello Kitty brand.
Under the agreement, products based on Hello Kitty and other Sanrio properties are slated to include figures, playsets, plush toys, indoor and outdoor children’s furniture, seasonal products, interactive toys, and a number of categories related to Jakks’ portfolio of girls’ activity brands. The first products will debut exclusively at Target this fall.
“The Hello Kitty brand is one of the few licenses in the marketplace that is as relevant today as it was 35 years ago,” said Jennifer Richmond, Jakk’s senior vice president of licensing and media. “We look forward to working with Sanrio to launch a full array of innovative and exciting products to further extend this top brand at retail.”
Jakks’ initial Hello Kitty line-up will include mini figures, such as Molded Clip-ons; Urban Figures, collectible figures of Hello Kitty pairs based on the current urban vinyl figure trend; and a Purse Playset with Small Figures line. Hello Kitty activity products will include Pen Craft, a line of pens customizable with beads and charms; and Hello Kitty String World playsets, a line of activity sets for kids to create their own jewelry, room décor and even small dolls using a patented combination of string and glue contained in a pen. In electronics, the company plans a Disco Desktop Speaker.
CompaniesJAKKS Pacific
CharactersHello Kitty