anrio is a world-wide designer and distributor of character-branded stationery, school supplies, gifts and accessories. We are perhaps best known for Hello Kitty®, our star character and corporate symbol. Hello Kitty, however, is only one of many Sanrio characters and designs that bring Sanrio merchandise line to life. Others include Pochacco®, our athletic young pup, and the slightly naughty Badtz Maru®. Sanrio was founded in 1960 by Mr. Shintaro Tsuji. Mr. Tsuji created a line of character merchandise designed around gift-giving occasions. Forty years later, Mr. Tsuji is the Chairman of Sanrio Company, Ltd., based in Tokyo and with distribution throughout Japan and Southeast Asia, the Americas and Europe. Sanrio, Inc., is the wholly owned subsidiary of Sanrio Co., Ltd., and is headquartered in South San Francisco, CA. Sanrio Inc. distributes products throughout North, Central and South America. Sanrio began in the western hemisphere in 1976 with a boutique store in the Eastridge Mall in San Jose, CA. In the Americas today, over 4,000 locations proudly display Sanrio character merchandise. This number includes two hundred Sanrio boutique stores, the ultimate destinations for the Sanrio magic. Over forty of these stores are owned and operated by Sanrio. The rest are independently owned by operators who share our "small gift, big smile" philosophy.