By 
A TYRONE-based sportswear manufacturer and one of the country’s biggest brands has reported £1.6m in profits, with figures indicating that online sales continue to become an increasingly important source of revenue for O’Neills Irish International Sports Company.
Long-recognised as the most popular provider of clothing to GAA clubs across the country, O’Neills, while partially relinquishing their stranglehold on the market in recent years, remains the dominant force in the industry.
Recently, in addition to their bread and butter income – namely the supply of kit and equipment to clubs across Ireland and beyond, combined with a diverse high street retail trade – the company has expanded its offering in other directions.
Chief among the company’s new modes of operating has been an increased online presence, one that helped profits in the year ending December 2023 hit £1.63m.
This figure is roughly the same as the previous 12 months. However, the company’s turnover was up by around five per-cent, an increase attributed to the burgeoning success of the firm’s online custom.
However, this income boost has been offset by a continued rise in staff costs and challenges posed by inflation.
In its latest accounts, O’Neills said, “(The) current inflationary environment continues to bring uncertainty to the company’s operational costs as well as impacting on consumer’s spending ability.”
O’Neills now has eight retail stores in the North, including one in Strabane and another in Omagh, which opened in June 2022.
The company, while developing its online reach, has continued to invest in more traditional means of doing business with customers, including expanding two stores in Belfast, one at the Kennedy Centre and the other at Royal Avenue.