A diamond-studded Hello Kitty pendant costing 50,000 dollars was snatched up in a mere two minutes by a man who traveled hundreds of miles to buy the gift for his daughter - and paid in cash.The middle-aged man carrying a black Chanel bag appeared at 10:02 am, two minutes after the central Tokyo outlet of Mitsukoshi department store opened.
Despite the price tag of 5.7 million yen (50,000 dollars) including tax, the man said he came early as he was worried other consumers might also want the pendant in the shape of the hugely popular feline character.
The man, who travelled hundreds of kilometers (miles) from his home in western Fukui prefecture, said he wanted the pendant, studded with diamonds with a ruby ribbon and sapphire nose, as a surprise present for his daughter.
But he had an agonizing eight minutes as Mitsukoshi waited until 10:10 am to confirm no other customers would rush in to fight for the pendant, witnesses said.
After securing the gift, the man, who did not give his name, bought a Hello Kitty pochette - for a mere 200,000 yen.
The quick sale would not be a big surprise for Kitty fans, as Mitsukoshi's Osaka store sold a diamond-studded, platinum Hello Kitty figurine for 10.5 million yen last November.
Hello Kitty, which started in 1974 as a moonfaced cartoon cat on a coin purse, has emerged into a global icon of cuteness with about 50,000 different products on sale in 60 nations.
Source by AFP (TOKYO)
