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 Headquarters at Gate City Osaki inŌsaki, Tokyo | |
Native name | 株式会社サンリオ |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| TYO:8136 | |
| Industry | Wholesale[1] |
| Founded | August 10, 1960; 64 years ago (1960-08-10) (as Yamanashi Silk Company) |
| Founder | Shintaro Tsuji |
| Headquarters | Ōsaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo ,Japan |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
| Products |
|
| Brands | Hello Kitty Mr. Men |
| Revenue |  ¥72,624 million[2] (2023) |
| ¥13,247 million[2] (2023) | |
| ¥8,225 million[2] (2023) | |
| Total assets | ¥100,704 million[2] (2023) |
| Total equity | ¥50,152 million[2] (2023) |
Number of employees | 630[3] (2023) |
| Divisions | Kokoro Sanriowave THOIP |
| Website | sanrio |
Sanrio Company, Ltd. (株式会社サンリオ,Kabushikigaisha Sanrio)[4] is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and manufactures products focusing on thekawaii ("cute") segment ofJapanese popular culture. Their products includestationery, school supplies, gifts, andaccessories, which are sold worldwide, including at specialty brand retail stores in Japan. Sanrio's best-known character isHello Kitty, a cartoon cat[5][6][7] and one of the most successful marketing brands in the world.[8]
Besides selling character goods, Sanrio takes part in film production and publishing. They own the rights to theMr. Men characters and Japanese licensing rights to thePeanuts characters. Theiranimatronics branch, Kokoro Company, Ltd. (kokoro being Japanese for "heart"), is best known for theActroidandroid. The company also runs aKFC franchise inSaitama Prefecture.
Shintaro Tsuji founded Sanrio on August 10, 1960, then known as theYamanashi Silk Company using¥1,000,000 in capital.[a] In 1962, Tsuji expanded his enterprise fromsilk to rubber sandals with flowers painted on them.[10] Tsuji noticed his success gained by merely adding a cute design to the sandals.[10] He began using existing cartoon characters for his merchandise. In the late 1960s the company began producing goods with the dog characterSnoopy, from the American comic stripPeanuts, after acquiring the Japanese licensing rights.[11]
In 1973 the company was officially established under the name Sanrio. In the bookKore ga Sanrio no Himitsu Desu (これがサンリオの秘密です) orThese are Sanrio's Secrets Tsuji, Sanrio's founder, said thatYamanashi (山梨), part of the company's former name, has an alternativeon'yomi reading ofSanri. The remainingo was added from theou (オウ) sound people make when they are excited.[12] The company's European website gives another origin of the name, saying the name comes from the Spanish wordssan ('holy') andrío ('river').[13]
Tsuji hired his own designers to create characters for Sanrio, so as to not have to pay outsideroyalty fees.[10][14] The first original Sanrio character,Coro Chan, was introduced in 1973.[15][16]Hello Kitty was added to the lineup of early Sanrio characters in 1974 and the first related merchandise was released the following year. The popular feline whose mouth is usually invisible has had both peaks and drops in sales over the years but always has been the highest contributor to Sanrio's sales. Sanrio constantly adds new characters to its lineup. Specific characters are rotated in and out of active production.[17] For a short time,Osamu Tezuka's baby unicorn characterUnico, who starred in two feature-length anime movies in the early 1980s, was also part of the Sanrio's lineup; however, the rights to Unico shifted to Osamu Tezuka's own company after Tezuka's death in 1989.
In late 2003, Sanrio won the "Top Brand with a Conscience" award from the Medinge Group of Sweden for its communication principles.[18] The company has partnered withUNICEF since 1984. In 2006, Sanrio launchedSanrio Digital together withTyphoon Games to expand to the Internet,online games, and mobile services.
Beginning withJewelpet in 2008, Sanrio started collaborating withSega Toys in creating characters intended to become media franchises. Subsequent collaborations includeRilu Rilu Fairilu from 2016 andBeatcats from 2020.[19][20]
2010 was Sanrio's 50th anniversary. In conjunction with this,Build-A-Bear Workshop released limited editionstuffed toys of several Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty, Chococat, My Melody and Keroppi.[21]
Hello Kitty is alleged to be drawn in a similar style to the rabbitMiffy. On August 26, 2010, Mercis BV, representing Miffy's creatorDick Bruna, brought suit against Sanrio. They claimed that one of Hello Kitty's companion characters, a rabbit named Cathy, infringes on the copyright and trademark of Miffy.[22] On November 2, 2010, a Dutch court ruled against Sanrio and ordered the company to stop marketing Cathy products in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.[22][23][24] Following theMarch 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Sanrio and Mercis reached an out-of-court settlement on June 7, 2011, for Sanrio to halt production worldwide of merchandise that feature Cathy. They also jointly announced a €150,000 donation to earthquake victims.[25]
In December 2011, Sanrio Global acquired the rights to theMr. Men characters, which includes the subsidiary Mr Men Films Ltd, taking overChorion's THOIP company.[26][27][28]
In 2019 theEuropean Commission fined Sanrio 6.2 million euros (approx. 6.9 million US dollars) for blocking cross-border sales of its licensed products.[29][30]
In June 2020, it was announced that the company's founder and president, Shintaro Tsuji would step down from the role and hand control of the company to his grandson, Tomokuni Tsuji. Tomokuni was just 31 at the time, making him the youngest chief executive of a listed Japanese company.[31] Shintaro Tsuji ran the company for 60 years.[32]
Sanrio Inc. is Sanrio's American subsidiary. Sanrio Inc. has offices inSouth San Francisco, California, andTorrance, California. Sanrio's first Western Hemisphere store opened inSan Jose'sEastridge Mall. In 2008, Sanrio opened its high-end boutique calledSanrio Luxe in New York City'sTimes Square. In the Western Hemisphere, Sanrio character-branded products are sold in upwards of 13,000 locations including department, specialty, and national chain stores and over 85 Sanrio boutiques. In April 2010, the first and only Sanrio-licensed eatery (Sanrio Cafe) in the U.S. opened atPearlridge's Downtown phase inAiea, Hawaii.
In 2004, Sanrio Co. Ltd., expanded its license to one of its major licensee and plush suppliersNakajima USA to include the owning and operating of all Sanrio branded stores in the US, overseeing the relationships between individual licensed stores and supplying all categories of products for the retail stores in the US and wholesale accounts.
Sanrio hosts twotheme parks in Japan,Sanrio Puroland inTama, Tokyo, and Harmonyland[33][34] inHiji,Ōita,Kyūshū.
Sanrio has created over 450 characters as of 2022, the best known of which is the white cat characterHello Kitty from 1974.[35] Other well-known characters include the rabbitMy Melody from 1975, the frogKeroppi from 1988, the penguinBad Badtz-Maru from 1993, the white dogCinnamoroll from 2001, the rabbitKuromi from 2005, the animal seriesJewelpet from 2008, the egg characterGudetama from 2013, and thered pandaAggressive Retsuko from 2015.
Notable designers of Sanrio characters includeYuko Shimizu, original designer of Hello Kitty,Yuko Yamaguchi, lead designer for most of Hello Kitty's history andMiyuki Okumura, original designer of Cinnamoroll.[36][37][38]
Since 1986 Sanrio has held the annual Sanrio Character Ranking poll where fans can vote on their favorite characters. It began in theStrawberry Newspaper (ja:いちご新聞) published by Sanrio in Japan, but now voting also takes place online.[35]
Besides their own original characters, Sanrio also owns the rights to theMr. Men characters and Japanese licensing rights to thePeanuts characters.
From 1977 to 1985, Sanrio produced movies through their Sanrio Films label. AfterA Journey Through Fairyland, Sanrio switched gears and started doing short films, OVAs, and TV shows based on their characters. In 2006, Sanrio announced they are again going to do feature-length films.
| Title (English and Japanese) | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Joe and the Rose (バラの花とジョー/Bara no Hana to Joe) | March 7, 1977 (Japan) | Animated short film |
| Little Jumbo (小さなジャンボ/Chiisana Jumbo) | September 10, 1977 (Japan) | Animated short film |
| Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids? | September 10, 1977 (Japan) December 7, 1977 (USA) | Live-action documentary; co-produced withCharles M. Schulz Creative Associates andKorty Films |
| The Mouse and His Child (親子ねずみの不思議な旅/Oyaro nezumi no fushingina tabi) | November 18, 1977 (USA) March 11, 1978 (Japan) | Co-produced withMurakami Wolf; Based on the children's book byRussell Hoban |
| Ringing Bell (チリンの鈴/Chirin no Suzu) | March 11, 1978 (Japan) April 8, 1983 (USA; Direct to Video) | Animated short film; Based on the children's book byTakashi Yanase |
| Olly Olly Oxen Free (also released asThe Great Balloon Adventure) | May 13, 1978 (Japan) c. August 1978 (USA) | Live-action film |
| Orpheus of the Stars/Metamorphoses/Winds of Change (星のオルフェウス/Hoshi no Orufeusu) | May 26, 1978 (USA; asMetamorphoses) May 3, 1979 (USA; asWinds of Change) October 27, 1979 (Japan; asOrpheus of the Stars) | Animated film; Based on the poem,Metamorphoses, byOvid Co-produced withColumbia Pictures |
| The Glacier Fox[39] (キタキツネ物語/Kita-kitsune monogatari) | July 15, 1978 (Japan) January 5, 1979 (USA) | Live-action documentary |
| Nutcracker Fantasy (くるみ割り人形/Kurumiwari Ningyō) | March 3, 1979 (Japan) July 6, 1979 (USA) | Stop-motion animated film; Based onThe Nutcracker byPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky |
| Unico: Black Cloud, White Feather (ユニコ 黒い雲と白い羽/Kuroi Kumo Shiroi Hane) | April 1979 (Japan)[40] | Rejected animated pilot; Based on the manga byOsamu Tezuka |
| A Tale of Africa/The Green Horizon (アフリカ物語/Afurika Monogatari) | July 19, 1980 (Japan) c. 1981 (USA; Released asThe Green Horizon on television) | Live-action film |
| The Fantastic Adventures of Unico (ユニコ) | March 14, 1981 (Japan) May 12, 1983 (USA; released direct-to-video) | Animated film; Co-production withTezuka Productions &Madhouse; Based on the manga byOsamu Tezuka |
| The Sea Prince and the Fire Child (シリウスの伝説/The Legend of Sirius) | July 18, 1981 (Japan) September 8, 1982 (USA; released direct-to-video) | Animated film |
| The Ideon: A Contact (伝説巨神イデオン 接触篇/Densetsu-kyoshin ideon: Sesshoku-hen) | July 10, 1982 (Japan) | Animated film (compilation film based onSpace Runaway Ideon) Co-produced withSunrise/Co-distributed byShochiku |
| The Ideon: Be Invoked (伝説巨神イデオン 発動篇/Densetsu kyojin ideon: Hatsudou-hen) | July 10, 1982 (Japan) | Animated film (Alternate ending of the television series:Space Runaway Ideon) Co-produced withSunrise |
| Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder | November 5, 1982 (USA) | Live-action film |
| Unico in the Island of Magic (ユニコ 魔法の島へ) | July 16, 1983 (Japan) November 10, 1983 (USA; released direct-to-video) | Animated film; Based on the manga byOsamu Tezuka |
| Oshin (おしん) | March 17, 1984 (Japan) | Animated film; Based on the Japanesetelevision drama of the same name |
| Fairy Florence/A Journey Through Fairyland (妖精フローレンス/Yosei Florence) | October 19, 1985 (Japan) November 4, 1985 (USA; released direct-to-video) | Animated film |
| My Melody no Akazukin (マイメロディの赤ずきん) | July 22, 1989 (Japan) | Animated film; Part of Sanrio Anime Festival |
| Hello Kitty no Cinderella (ハローキティのシンデレラ) | ||
| Kiki to Lala no Aoi Tori (キキとララの青い鳥) | ||
| Pokopon no Yukai na Saiyuuki (ぽこぽんのゆかいな西遊記) | July 21, 1990 (Japan) | Animated film; Part of Sanrio Anime Festival |
| Hello Kitty no Oyayubi Hime (ハローキティのおやゆびひめ) | ||
| Kero Kero Keroppi no Daibouken: Fushigi na Mame no ki (けろけろけろっぴの大冒険 ふしぎな豆の木) | ||
| Kero Kero Keroppi no Sanjuushi (けろけろけろっぴの三銃士) | July 20, 1991 (Japan) | Animated film; Part of Sanrio Anime Festival |
| Hello Kitty no Mahou no Mori no Ohime-sama (ハローキティの魔法の森のお姫さま) | ||
| Tabo no Ryuuguu Hoshi Dai Tanken (たあ坊の竜宮星大探険) | ||
| Hello Kitty no Minna no Mori o Mamore! (ハローキティのみんなの森をまもれ!) | January 13, 1996 (Japan) | Animated film; Part of Sanrio Anime Festival |
| Kero Kero Keroppi no Bikkuri! Obake Yashiki (けろけろけろっぴのびっくり! おばけやしき) | ||
| Bad Batzmaru no Ore no Pochi Sekaiichi (バッドばつ丸のオレのポチは世界一) | ||
| Mouse Story: George and Gerald's Adventure (ねずみ物語 ジョージとジェラルドの冒険) | December 22, 2007 (Japan) | Animated film; Co-produced withMadhouse; Released in a double bill withCinnamoroll the Movie[41] |
| Cinnamoroll the Movie (シナモン The Movie) | December 22, 2007 (Japan) | Animated film; Co-produced withMadhouse; Released in a double bill withMouse Story: George and Gerald's Adventure[42] |
| Jewelpet the Movie: Sweets Dance Princess (映画ジュエルペット スウィーツダンスプリンセス) | August 11, 2012 (Japan) | Animated film; Co-produced withSega Toys &Studio Comet |
| Onegai My Melody: Yū & Ai (おねがいマイメロディ) | August 11, 2012 (Japan) | Animated film; Co-produced withStudio Comet |
| Gō-chan and his Forest Friends Moko & Marvelous Creatures | May 3, 2017 (Japan) | Animated film; Co-produced withTV Asahi &Shin-Ei Animation |
| Gō-chan ~Moco and the Promise Made on the Ice~ | March 18, 2018 (Japan) | Animated film; Co-produced withTV Asahi &Shin-Ei Animation |
| Jewelepet Attack Travel! | May 14, 2022 | Animated short film; Co-produced withAshi Productions |
Sanrio began its involvement in the production of TV and direct-to-video animation during the late 1980s and early 1990s, starting with the US-madeHello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater in 1987. The character My Melody got her first starring role in an animated series in the anime television series,Onegai My Melody, which first aired onTV Osaka on April 3, 2005, and was produced byStudio Comet. TheSugarbunnies franchise was later adapted into a 7-minute short series in 2007 and was popular enough to gain two sequels.
Jewelpet was also adapted into an anime metaseries in 2009, which was also produced by Studio Comet, spanning 6 official seasons and one theatrical movie, making it the longest-running anime adaptation of a Sanrio franchise in history.
Show by Rock!!, a game by Sanrio and Geechs got an anime adaptation produced byBones in 2015 - and was licensed in the United States byFunimation.Aggretsuko also get three animated adaptations by Fanworks, one aired onTBS and the later two were released officially onNetflix.
A few children's variety shows by Sanrio aired on TV Tokyo.
Sanrio Digital produces and publishes digital content based on Sanrio intellectual property assets like Hello Kitty, My Melody, Badtz Maru and many others. Among the games are:Hello Kitty: Roller Rescue,Hello Kitty: Birthday Adventures, andHello Kitty Seasons.Hello Kitty Island Adventure (2023) is a Sanrio game created forApple Arcade, PC andNintendo Switch.
Sanrio publishes many books featuring its own characters. It also publishes art books (for instance, those byKeibun Ōta). Sanrio publishes books in many languages, including Japanese and English. Sanrio published video games in the early 1990s under the nameCharacter Soft.
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