SANRIO Announces New Global Consumer Products Division

Janet Han Hsu Named President

TORRANCE, Calif., May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- SANRIO, Inc., the international product company best known for Hello Kitty(R), has announced the formation of the Global Consumer Products division. This newly created business unit will build upon SANRIO's success with dynamic new creative and a global brand strategy that capitalizes on SANRIO's international popularity and distribution.

To head up this new division, SANRIO has named Janet Han Hsu as President of Global Consumer Products. Ms. Hsu will be based in SANRIO's corporate headquarters in Los Angeles. The appointment is effective immediately. In a related announcement, Mr. Roberto Lanzi has been named President of Global Consumer Products for the EMEA market. Ms. Hsu will work together with Mr. Lanzi to form strategic global alliances, expand the existing international business and establish a consistency in brand messaging worldwide.

In her role as President, Ms. Hsu will be responsible for the development and expansion of the Global Consumer Products division with a focus on licensing, new products and product categories, as well as exclusive co- branded partnership programs. She will develop SANRIO's emerging characters for licensing, product development and innovative retail partnerships. One of Ms. Hsu's main initiatives will be to harness the power of the brand's equity and continuously evolve Hello Kitty and all of SANRIO's popular characters creatively across multiple channels and platforms.

"I am very excited to be a part of a company with such extraordinary evergreen brands," says Ms. Hsu. "My personal goal is to provide the leadership to further propel the evolution of Sanrio's diverse portfolio of classic characters through innovative licensing programs, strategic partnerships, and unique storytelling."

Ms. Hsu comes to SANRIO with an impressive range of experience in all aspects of the retail, wholesale and licensing businesses. Before joining SANRIO, Ms. Hsu was Sr. Vice President of MGA Entertainment. Prior to that, she held executive level positions at Mattel, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor, among others, giving her a multi-dimensional perspective on the consumer products business that will greatly enhance SANRIO's position in the global market.

High resolution headshot available upon request

About SANRIO

SANRIO develops, distributes and licenses a collection of gift, stationery and fashion accessory items for women of all ages. SANRIO was founded in 1960 based on the concept that a small gift can bring a big smile to a child of any age. Today, over 50,000 Sanrio-branded items are sold in over 60 countries around the world. In the Western Hemisphere SANRIO character-branded products are sold in upwards of 12,000 locations including department, specialty, national chain stores and over 200 SANRIO boutiques. For more information, please visit http://www.sanrio.com/.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: SANRIO, Inc.

CONTACT: Dyann Hawkins, dyann@orsipr.com, or Emily McMullin,
emily@orsipr.com, both of Orsi Public Relations, +1-323-874-4073, both for
SANRIO, Inc.

Web site: http://www.sanrio.com/

2008-05-21 20:01:07 0368331 PRNEWSWIRE