Nakajima USA, Inc., is an American toy manufacturer, founded in 2000.[1] It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nakajima Japan, a family run company founded in 1919. A seasoned company in the design and manufacture of licensed plush, collectible and seasonal toys and gifts, Nakajima USA currently produces and distributes a wide range of lifestyle products under a master license agreement for Sanrio Inc. as well as the company’s signature characters.
Nakajima USA has produced and distributed lifestyle products for brands including Angry Little Girls, Harajuku Lovers and Sesame Street. Nakajima USA operates in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The stores division, sales, marketing, finance and operations are based in Los Angeles, while warehouse facilities, customer service, credit and merchandise control and based in San Francisco.[2]
Related Company: Partner Corporation, Nakajima USA, Inc.
1919: Founder and CEO Koichi Nakajima started celluloid Toy Plush in Kameido, Koto-ku in Japan
1945: Office moved from Kameido, Koto-ku to Chuo, Edogawa-ku where it is currently located
1953: Company organization changed to corporation
1953: Start producing inflatable vinyl toys
1959: Trade name changed to Nakajima Seisakusho.
1962: License contract with Walt Disney Company, produced floating ring, floating boat, and kids pool
1986: New head office building at 1-7-8 Chuo Edogawa-ku established
1988: Founds partner corporation Nakajima USA. Begins license contract with Sanrio.
1991: Trade name changed to Nakajima Corporation
1996: New organization with the new CEO Shinji Nakajima begins
Nakajima USA
In April 2004, Sanrio Co. Ltd., expanded its license to Nakajima USA to include all categories of products for US Sanrio Boutique Stores and specialty gift retailers.
Nakajima USA currently assumes responsibility for the US boutique and retail stores business to include 49 independently run Sanrio stores, 47 Nakajima USA corporate-owned Sanrio stores, and the wholesale gift business to include 2000+ accounts nationwide. Today, Nakajima USA is Sanrio’s principle licensee and its primary partner for the Specialty Retail Channel in the US.
Sanrio, best known for icon Hello Kitty and home to many more characters including Chococat, My Melody, and Keroppi, celebrated its 50th anniversary in August 2010. Today, over 50,000 Sanrio-branded items are sold in over 70 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 Sanrio Boutique stores.[4]
In 2020, Nakajima Japan head office was moved back to Kameido.[3]
Typically 1,200 square feet (110 m2) and in major metropolitan malls, Nakajima oversees 2 kinds of Sanrio Boutique stores. Corporate stores are owned and managed directly by the company while licensed stores are owned and operated by individual store owners in the region.
Flagship stores
Flagship stores are Sanrio Boutique stores over 1,500 square feet (140 m2) that offer a wide selection of Sanrio merchandise, including limited-edition and collector items, specialty products from Japan, “Sanrio Luxe” branded high-end items, and select licensed merchandise often not found in other Sanrio Boutiques. Nakajima-operated flagship stores can be found in New York City, NY, Ala Moana, HI, San Francisco, CA, Las Vegas, NV, Costa Mesa, CA, Orlando, FL, Chicago, IL, Garden State, NJ, and Houston, TX.
Merchandise/products
Each Sanrio Boutique store offers a wide range of products featuring Sanrio characters including stationery, clothing, cosmetics, accessories, home furnishing, toys and candy. New products are released every month. Nakajima USA also offers its own signature characters, with a fun line of ultra-soft plush and other popular product categories.
Future expansion
With the continued success of the licensed store concept, Sanrio-Nakajima hopes to focus on actively expanding its retail store operations and plans to do so primarily through the licensed store concept. Building on its numerous successful store operations in California and the west coast, Nakajima plans to bring the Sanrio Boutique store retail concept to states in the mid-west and the east coast in the very near future.
