Hello Kitty’s first and only high-end fashion brand is heading towards its roots in Asia, with the opening of 15 stores across the continent.

Pynkiss boutiques have already opened in the Philippines, marking the beginning of the Asian growth plan.

Pynkiss directors are in talks with several high-profile businesses and stockists across the entire region including several in mainland China. They are preparing for the further expansion of the brand from now into 2013, taking its premium apparel and accessories to already devoted Asian Hello Kitty fan base.

China is now the world’s fastest growing market for licensed goods, which has grown over 250 per cent from US$1.1 billion in 2005 to US$ 4 billion in 2011. Despite a very short history of development, the huge size of the economy has made China the second largest licensing market in Asia behind Japan.

Pynkiss, its eye fixed on cutting-edge fashion, is designed in the fashion capital of the world, Milan, but features the Japanese and international icon, Hello Kitty (part of the Sanrio staple), which has grown into a US$6 billion a year brand.

The global expansion of the brand follows the recent release of the Pynkiss Lookbook app for iPhone and Android as a precursor to the launch of its global online retail platform coming early 2013. Expansion into Asia comes hot on the heels of Pynkiss boutiques opening in the Middle East region.

“Pynkiss sees the growth opportunities in the Asian licensing market as prosperous. According to research, cross-sectional analyses show that for every one per cent rise in per capita income, the per capita spending on licensed goods will rise about 1.4 per cent,” said CEO Chady Jreige.

Jreige added that big name stockists from the US and Canada to Australia are now in talks with the company to open individual and chains of Pynkiss boutiques.

GB