or have sex using a Hello Kitty condom.) Sanrio, the company which owns the character, makes almost $4bn in sales annually. Kitty’s popularity is emblematic of the global craze for cute things.

as she wanders around a Hello Kitty store in the shopping district of Causeway Bay, in Hong Kong. “She is so cute.” Tse, much like the rest of Hong Kong and the world, can’t get enough of ...