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High-end jewellery maker Kailis is set to accelerate its efforts to penetrate the US jewellery market.
The Australian company has been spurred on by the exposure it received thanks to the Oprah Winfrey television show in December last year.
The American TV personality filmed two special episodes of her show outside Sydney Opera House in front of a 6,000-strong live audience. Afterwards she presented each guest with a limited-edition Kailis-designed medallion, engraved with the words “Oprah The Farewell Season”.
Kailis general manager Sonia McKay-Coghill believes the great Oprah give-away, which saw medallions worth a total of $2.7 million (£1.6 million) handed out for free, has helped raise the company’s profile across the world.
“It is a significant investment, but I think the opportunity to take our brand and such a superb piece of jewellery to the world, on arguably the biggest world stage available, is just incredible,” she said.
Ms McKay-Coghill restated the company’s global ambitions and added that it hopes to secure the first of its large US distribution deals in the near future.
“We definitely see Kailis as an international luxury brand, and it stands to reason we’ll expand into the US market,” she added.
Kailis Group was founded by Michael Kailis and his wife, Dr Patricia Kailis, in Dongara Western Australia in 1962. The brand has a presence in more than 80 high-profile jewellery boutiques around the world.
"The opportunity to take our brand and such a superb piece of jewellery to the world, on arguably the biggest world stage available, is just incredible"