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Sanrio Acquires Mr. Men, Little Miss Sunshine Brands
posted on by Egan Loo
The character brand company Sanrio acquired the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters, which were created by the late English author Roger Hargreaves, from the media company Chorizon Limited on Tuesday. These characters will be the first characters in Sanrio's stable that Sanrio did not create in-house.
Hargreaves launched the Mr. Men picture book series in 1971 with Mr. Tickle, Mr. Happy, Mr. Bump, and other books. He then expanded his lineup with Little Miss Sunshine and other Little Miss books in 1981. Hargreaves passed away in 1988, but his son Adam Hargreaves has continued to create new books.
There are now over 80 Mr. Men and Little Miss characters. The books have been translated into over 30 languages and have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. The books inspired four British and American television animated series, some of which aired in Japan.
Sanrio is best known for its feline mascot Hello Kitty. In July, the financial news source Bloomberg reported that Sanrio would spend up to 30 billion yen ($377 million) to buy the rights to an already established character, in order to rely less on Hello Kitty. The acquisition was completed through Sanrio Global, Sanrio's firm in charge of European business and international acquisitions.
Japanese illustrator Yūko Shimizu created Hello Kitty in 1974, but Sanrio Global chief executive, Ray Hatoyama, cited the mascot's official in-story biography when he noted, "Hello Kitty was born in London as well, and we are sure that [she, Mr. Men, and the Little Miss characters] will become good friends." He continued, "We are confident that with Mr. Men and Little Miss on our portfolio, we can drive our global license program to the next stage."
Source: animeanime.biz, The Guardian
Images © 2011 THOIP (a Chorion Limited company)
