Fresh wave of Hello Kitty mania to descend on McDonald’s outlets in Singapore

By Michelle Kwara | Yahoo Newsroom – 

 It may not be safe to enter a McDonald's restaurant in Singapore on Mondays starting 28 April.

To celebrate the iconic Japanese character Hello Kitty's 40th anniversary, the fast food chain announced last Friday that it would be releasing a new collection of six Hello Kitty toys in McDonald's restaurants island wide next Monday.

Singapore will be the first in the world to get the Hello Kitty Bubbly World collection of plush toys. It features Hello Kitty dressed as six other famous Sanrio characters - Kerokerokeroppi, a frog, My Melody, a rabbit, Osaru No Monkichi, a monkey, PomPomPurin, a golden retriever, Tuxedosam, a penguin dressed in a tuxedo and Bad Badtz-maru, a spiky-haired penguin. The Kerokerokeroppi toy will be released first, followed by the others.

Each plush toy comes in its own box and will cost $4.95 each, with the purchase of any Extra Value Meal. McDonald's has said that each customer can purchase up to four toys per store visit. A new toy design will be available every Monday at 11am. The toys will be available all McDonald's outlets excluding the KK Women's and Children's Hospital outlet, McCafes and dessert kiosks. It will also not be available via McDelivery.

McDonald's Singapore marketing director Yvonne Low said, "We are delighted that customers here in Singapore will be the first in the world to get access to this commemorative series, a treat that is sure to excite collectors."

She added, "This year we are excited to give our customers even more convenient options to get their hands on their favourite collectibles."

Even before the toys make their world debut in the restaurants, fans can already purchase them online.

For the first time, McDonald's will also allow fans to purchase the entire collection of plush toys in an exclusive Collectors' Set. The set will include all six individually-boxed plush toys, a 40th Anniversary certificate and six Extra Value Meal vouchers. The Collectors' Set is priced at $80 and will go on sale from 11am on 23 April. However, there is a limit of three sets per transaction.
 
Already, many are looking to cash in on the obsession for Hello Kitty plush toys.
 
Black market offers have popped up online and been taken up. An eBay seller offering the Collectors' Set for $125 has already sold one set. Another eBay seller is offering the set for $188.

On popular Chinese auction site Taobao, the Collectors' set is being sold for $92, with one seller even pricing the set at $178. Individual plush toys are also available on Taobao, priced at $20.

In a response to a Facebook comment about the black market sale of the plush toys, McDonald's Singapore stated, "We do not support resale activities as our intention is for the Hello Kitty plush toys to be enjoyed by as many customers and Hello Kitty fans as possible. We have put in place various measures this year to ensure more customers and fans can purchase the toys they like."
 
Singaporeans have proven to be great fans of the Hello Kitty plush toys, often queuing long hours just to get a hold of a plush toy of the famous cat with no mouth.

The frenzy for the feline toys sparked off in 2000 when McDonald's Singapore launched a collection of the Hello Kitty toys dressed in wedding outfits. The plush toys last appeared here in 2013, when McDonald's launched a Hello Kitty Fairy Tales collection. The first toy released in the promotion was sold out islandwide in a matter of days, leaving many customers frustrated and angry.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/fresh-wave-of-hello-kitty-mania-to-descend-on-mcdonald-s-outlets-in-singapore-103231529.html