Emigrants in Australia drive demand for Irish sportswear company's kit

THE LARGEST manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland yesterday reported a boom in the sale of GAA tops – in Australia.

Boosted by the growing numbers of Irish people emigrating to Australia, O’Neills confirmed yesterday that the sale of their GAA tops there has increased by 200 per cent in the past two years.

“We’re chasing the emigrant dollar,” by aiming to increase revenues in overseas markets, said company director Paul Towell.

O’Neills employs 500 here and Mr Towell said the company is selling direct to GAA clubs in Australia.

“The expansion of the company’s export markets is necessary to maintain jobs at the firm,” said Mr Towell.“The 200 per cent increase in sales in Australia in two years is from a small base, but it’s a significant increase.”

Mr Towell said the company is also expanding its business in the far east, the United States and the United Kingdom. The firm’s export sales account for 15 per cent of overall sales, and Mr Towell said the intention is to increase that to 25 per cent within the next year.

As part of the expansion into the UK, O’Neills sponsors rugby union club Harlequins.

The company was established in 1918 in Dublin’s Capel Street by Charles O’Neill and its jerseys are worn every year by top GAA stars, including Dublin’s Alan Brogan, Kerry’s Colm Cooper and Kilkenny’s Henry Shefflin.

It has manufacturing plants in Dublin and Strabane, Co Tyrone, but Mr Towell indicated that domestic demand “is quite depressed”.

“People are not spending. The sales of replica tops last year fell by 25 per cent. People haven’t got the money,” he said. “With people emigrating . . . and businesses are not sponsoring jerseys. So that has affected sales here.”

Mr Towell was commenting on results showing that pretax profits at its main company, Balbriggan Textiles Ltd, last year dropped by 16 per cent to €341,756.

The company’s profits declined after the its gross profit fell from €8.8 million to €8.6 million. It had accumulated profits of €13.5 million.

The abridged accounts do not provide a turnover figure. But Mr Towell said that overall revenues last year dropped by 10 per cent and this followed a 10 per cent decline recorded in 2009.

Separate accounts filed by the company’s Northern Ireland-based firm, O’Neill Irish International Sports Company Ltd, show that pretax profits last year fell by 10 per cent to £426,899 in spite of gross profit increasing by 13 per cent to £3.2 million. The firm had accumulated profits of £5.3 million.

“The market is back by 20 per cent in two years and it is not getting any better. It is not particularly rosy at the moment,” said Mr Towell.

The anticipated boost from Dublin footballers’ All-Ireland success did not materialise. “We were slightly disappointed with the sales of the Dublin shirts. It was the second year of the shirt, so there was no great lift.”

Mr Towell said 200 are employed in Dublin and 300 in NI. He said a wage freeze has been in place since 2008 and departing staff are not being replaced.