Ex-Sanrio SVP of licensing Bruce Giuliano, aka the man who helped Hello Kitty conquer the US consumer products market, has teamed up with Amnita Sen’s Vault Agency to create a new full-service licensing venture called Vault Branding Group.

Through the new company, Sen and Giuliano are aiming to provide licensors with a one-stop shop and, in effect, become their external licensing department. So in addition to offering standard agency services like negotiating licensee contracts, VBG plans to shepherd creative (style guides, trend analysis) and consumer marketing efforts for properties while seeking input from key US retailers like Wal-Mart and Hot Topic at the earliest stages of a program’s development.

The new j-v is concentrating on picking up clients in four areas: celebrities (musicians, pro athletes, actors), artists and designers, corporate brands and character-based properties. On the kids front, VBG currently reps made-for-TV movie franchise Roxy Hunter and it’s just scored US rights to UK design co’s Santoro Graphics properties that includes Tutti Cutti.