Hello Kitty, introduced on a vinyl coin purse in 1974, became an instant phenomenon in Japan, and sales at Sanrio grew sevenfold in the cat’s first three years. But even then Sanrio’s founder and president, Shintaro Tsuji, expressed nervousness that consumers would burn out on the brand. Sanrio’s sales tapered off in the late 1970s, and then again in the mid-1990s when Japan entered a long economic slump.

1974年,Hello Kitty的形象最初出现在塑料钱包上,转瞬之间就风靡全日本。面世的头三年,Sanrio公司的销售额增加了7倍。Sanrio的创始人兼主席辻信太郎(Shintaro Tsuji)当时就很担心,怕消费者的热情来也快去也快。70年代末,Sanrio的销售额曾一度跌至低谷,而到了日本经济衰退的90年代中期,其销售额又再次下滑。

But around 2000, Kitty surprised Sanrio by rebounding in a big way, with Hollywood stars wearing the cat on T-shirts and carrying Hello Kitty bags.

但在2000年左右,Hello Kitty又出现了令Sanrio都感到意外的强势反弹,当时好莱坞的明星也穿着Hello Kitty的T恤,用印着Hello Kitty的包。

“But when you have a boom, you have a bust,” said Mr. Shichijo, the professor. “People get sick of it. Now Sanrio’s in trouble.”

“但是,正所谓盛极必衰,”七丈教授说,“人们总会厌倦它的。现在的Sanrio就很困难了。”