Hello Kitty could be called Hello Dollars for Fresno-area retailers.
The little whshop hello kittyite Japanese kitty with the red bow is a hot trend, with shoppers snapping up products for girls and, lately, grown women. One hard-core fan even had a Hello Kitty-themed wedding in north Fresno last year.
The traditional pencils with the iconic cat face still sell well, but the brand has expanded to bigger-ticket items, with local stores selling $300 Hello Kitty designer earrings, patent leather purses and luggage.
Like many trends, this one hit Fresno a little later than other big cities and has escalated in recent years -- helped by a wave of nostalgia as grown-ups remember the brand from their childhood. The brands marketing strategy of constantly releasing limited-edition merchandise keeps customers coming back for more.
Its appeal is evident at Kwirkworld, a novelty shop in the River Park shopping center. Owner Kirk Psenner says he makes three times as much on Hello Kitty merchandise as other items. He started with a small display of the products a year and a half ago. Now, a quarter of the stores floor space is dedicated to Hello Kitty products such as patent leather hand bags ranging from $20 to $90, pink license plate frames and rhinestone-covered cell phone cases. Jewelry, including the $300 cat face-shaped diamond earrings designed by Kimora Lee Simmons, is in a locked case.
ArticleTitle:Fresno shoppers finally catch on to the Hello Kitty craze
ArticleUrl:http://www.kitty-blog.com/catsshop/247.html
