The replica intercounty GAA shirt market has been described as “dead as a duck” since the conclusion of the men’s All-Ireland senior football and hurling finals in July.
“There is no doubt about it that the shortened championship season is the main factor behind the drop in sales. There has been very few replica shirt sales in shops since the third week of July,” said Paul Towell, financial director at O’Neills sportswear brand.
He said sales of replica county shirts were down 16 per cent on last year.
Underlining the impact of the shortened season, Mr Towell said the best-performing O’Neills replica shirt this year was probably the one worn by Australian rugby league side Penrith Panthers, who are now two-in-a-row NRL Grand Final champions.
Mr Towell said O’Neills’ markets in Australia and the UK had outperformed the domestic market in terms of growth in 2022.
The year “2022 has been very challenging for business here in Ireland and, along with the shortened GAA season, we have to deal with soaring electricity and gas prices along with inflation,” he said
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Mr Towell said that the best-selling intercounty jersey for 2022 was the Limerick jersey, which was boosted by the county’s three-in-a-row All-Ireland win for the hurlers, while the best-selling football jerseys for 2022 had been Dublin and Mayo.
Mr Towell warned that profits this year would be down significantly on the business’s €1.56 million the company earned last year, a figure that was 36 per cent ahead of 2020.
By the numbers
Accounts filed by Balbriggan Textiles Ltd, the main Irish arm of the sports brand, show that the increase in profits came as gross profits rose by 6 per cent from €11.1 million to €11.76 million.
Numbers employed last year were down 20 to 126 as staff costs increased from €4.77 million to €4.82 million.
At the end of the year, the firm had accumulated profits of €23.07 million while its cash funds increased from €4.2 million to €6.49 million.
Separate accounts filed by O’Neills main Northern Ireland arm, O’Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd, show that its pretax profits last year fell by 16 per cent to £993,026.
The drop in profits came as the firm’s gross profits increased by 13 per cent from £8.62 million to £9.72 million. The firm’s accumulated profits stood at £13.65 million. Numbers employed totalled 720 as staff costs increased from £12.57 million to £14.55 million.
