GAA sportswear company Gaelic Gear goes bust
Peter Sherry of Fermanagh fends off the challenge of Wexford's Adrian Flynn Fermanagh players wore Gaelic Gear shirts for six years
A company which attempted to break into the GAA leisurewear market with limited success has gone into liquidation following a court hearing.
Gaelic Gear made jerseys for Down and Fermanagh football teams during the middle part of the last decade.
However the company, based at Kennedy Way in west Belfast, faced stiff competition from traditional GAA supplier O'Neills.
The winding-up petition was made by Moneynick Construction Limited.
Last minute
It is understood the company was owed about £17,000 for rent of the Kennedy Way warehouse.
The public face of the Gaelic Gear was businessman Paul Campbell. He is listed in the most recent accounts filing at Companies House as the sole director of the business.
It is understood that at the hearing on Wednesday, he made a last-minute application to avert liquidation through a Companies Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).
A CVA is a deal where a company agrees to pay a proportion of its debt to creditors and continues to trade.
However, it is understood that Moneynick Construction was not happy with the terms of the CVA and proceeded with the winding-up application.
The Inland Revenue had also made a winding-up application although this was dismissed because the other had already been granted.
The liquidation comes months after Gaelic Gear lost access to its most potentially lucrative market.
Licence
A spokesperson for the GAA confirmed that it had withdrawn its licence to the company in March.
He said it meant that Gaelic Gear was unable to use any club or county crest on its leisurewear.
It was also not licensed to use the GAA crest.
It had already lost most of its business, with the Fermanagh County Board deciding not to renew its six-year contract in 2009, and opting for O'Neills instead.
The company, which also sold footballs, sliotars and hurleys, courted controversy during its relatively short time in the market.
In 2005, it clashed with the Kerry County Board after releasing a press statement appearing to link the county's football team with the company in "the most lucrative deal" in GAA history.
Kerry, which had a deal with O'Neills, rubbished the statement.
Accounts
The company was also known for its "partnership model" under which a fixed percentage of money earned from replica gear in a county was repaid to the county board.
In the latest accounts to the end of June 2008, the profit and loss account showed an overall loss of £3,273,771.
They also indicate that Mr Campbell has given personal guarantees to banks which have provided overdrafts.
He will therefore not be protected by the limited liability status of the company but will have to pay back the total of the guarantee from his own assets.
No-one from Gaelic Gear was available for comment.
QuoteThe company, which also sold footballs, sliotars and hurleys, courted controversy during its relatively short time in the market.
In 2005, it clashed with the Kerry County Board after releasing a press statement appearing to link the county's football team with the company in "the most lucrative deal" in GAA history.
Kerry, which had a deal with O'Neills, rubbished the statement.
Remember this at the time, shame to see them gone but with them well over 3 million in debts and in a very limited market where O'Neills rule the roost it was only ever going to end one way once the GAA pulled the plug on them.
Why did the GAA withdraw its license to them?
Quote from: Muzz on July 29, 2010, 02:21:12 PM
Why did the GAA withdraw its license to them?
Possibly because the GAA are getting kickback royalties from O'Neills or some have some form of exclusively deal with them.
Well this is what first jumped to mind. If that is the case then that is brutal!!! Giving contracts/approval to use copyright based on loyalties and backhanders in my book is not on from an amateur association.
Quote from: Muzz on July 29, 2010, 02:32:11 PM
Well this is what first jumped to mind. If that is the case then that is brutal!!! Giving contracts/approval to use copyright based on loyalties and backhanders in my book is not on from an amateur association.
It's also illegal under EU competition law! I'd say it was more to do with quality.
Who is to blame?? Whoever ran the company??
Quote from: Muzz on July 29, 2010, 02:32:11 PM
Well this is what first jumped to mind. If that is the case then that is brutal!!! Giving contracts/approval to use copyright based on loyalties and backhanders in my book is not on from an amateur association.
Who mentioned backhanders?? I would like the GAA to get as much money as possible from jersey sales, and if the way to do that is through an exclusivity deal with O'Neill's, I don't see anything wrong with it.
Quote from: Rois on July 29, 2010, 02:48:07 PM
Quote from: Muzz on July 29, 2010, 02:32:11 PM
Well this is what first jumped to mind. If that is the case then that is brutal!!! Giving contracts/approval to use copyright based on loyalties and backhanders in my book is not on from an amateur association.
Who mentioned backhanders?? I would like the GAA to get as much money as possible from jersey sales, and if the way to do that is through an exclusivity deal with O'Neill's, I don't see anything wrong with it.
Why do you want to see the GAA get as much money as possible? Its about competition. Competition in the market and competition for its consumers. Why should headquarters get the revenue? What not the county boards like Gaelic Gear was doing? If HQ withdrew license to Gaelic Gear for financial reasons (i.e. hurting their revenue) then I feel this is unacceptable.
Quote from: Muzz on July 29, 2010, 02:55:43 PM
Why should headquarters get the revenue? What not the county boards like Gaelic Gear was doing? If HQ withdrew license to Gaelic Gear for financial reasons (i.e. hurting their revenue) then I feel this is unacceptable.
Accepted. However, there are reasons why Down and Fermanagh didn't renew their agreements so it can't have been that lucrative for them. Were there any county agreements in existence before the licence was withdrawn? Down signed off long before it. I'd say it was more a case of they couldn't pay the licence fee.
A tough business at a tough economic time - a combination of bad luck and bad decision making somewhere along the line.
I'll ask again about the backhanders - what do you mean?
To be that much in debt I would imagine the company has been is difficulties for a long time well before the GAA pulled the plug on the license.
A couple of years back; 2007, I was setting up a new club, and contacted both O'Neills and Gaelic Gear about supplying some basic needs. Gaelic Gear ended up sending me 15 of their match balls for next to nothing (think it worked out at €15 per ball). this was exactly what we needed as didn't have a penny to our name. The ECB had also put us in contact with O'Neills for their special deal / agreement, but it worked put at €50 per ball. The service from Gaelic game was fantastic and we were really grateful to them, but shortly after we held our first tournament the balls went pear shaped; literally. so at the end of the day quality was an issue, but I'd still like to know why HQ withdrew the license. Competition is essential in this market, as the cost of GAA Gear can be a little excessive, especially taking into consideration that O'Neills have a solid, guaranteed, consistent market. A sad day indeed
The GAA withdrew the licence in March 2010. The accounts to June 2008 showed losses in excess of £3mill. The failure of Gaelic Gear is nothing to do with the GAA's failure to renew the licence.
The stuff they made was crap!! Thats the be all and end of!! The Down jersey they had a few years ago was the worst fitted jersey ever and the balls were like ballooons!!!
O'Neills are expensive and the billing system for clubs is crap but they have brilliant products which can last a lifetime.
Perhaps backhanders is the wrong word to use - but with GAA withdrawing license agreement and in reference to the previous post about O'Neills having something to do with it - O'Neills could have sweetened their deal with GAA to ensure that the license fee was withdrawn.
Not saying they did but no one knows the reason why the GAA removed the license.
bad news that this could happen and that there is/was not a decent alternative to the monopoly that O'Neill's have on the GAA kit but to be honest, they quality and the challenge from a "fashion" perspective in being able to flog jerseys was not up to scratch
My big issue with O'Neills would be that are they truly Irish made?
In this economic climate we should be insuring that the GAA are promoting Irish jobs esp in manufacturing. Im not sure if this is the case?
Sad to see a company go wrong that set out with good intentions of opening up a monopolised market but at the end of the day, their products were poor which was at least half their downfall!
surely azzurri are still in business are they not.
Business didn't work, I'm sure Rois sees hundreds of better businesses a year go under - it's just the way of the world.
Also, they'd 3m in losses, but that's not what they owed, it's hard to know how much they owed at the end, from the figures mentioned, possibly not very much - although as usual in these cases, the revenue and possibly the banks were probably the main creditors. Unfortunate for the investors and employees though.
(http://www.independent.ie/multimedia/archive/00070/394366_jpg_70452t.jpg)
Quotebut they have brilliant products which can last a lifetime.
Its not the Jersey its the man.
Quote from: A Quinn Martin Production on July 29, 2010, 03:40:00 PM
The GAA withdrew the licence in March 2010. The accounts to June 2008 showed losses in excess of £3mill. The failure of Gaelic Gear is nothing to do with the GAA's failure to renew the licence.
Hello planet earth. Ignore the accounts / debts for a minute, but are you saying that a company like Gaelic Gear who are targeting the GAA market wouldn't be able to get out of the hole a little easier if they'd retained the license? Please tell me you're a civil servant.
Quote from: Kerry Mike on July 29, 2010, 03:51:47 PM
(http://www.independent.ie/multimedia/archive/00070/394366_jpg_70452t.jpg)
Quotebut they have brilliant products which can last a lifetime.
Its not the Jersey its the man.
Found a real old retro jersey from the 60's in the house made by Smyco in Ballbriggan.. Tempted to wear it on Saturday :)
I have a 1959 Kerry one, thats from before ye found out that football even existed !!
Quote from: Kerry Mike on July 29, 2010, 04:01:20 PM
I have a 1959 Kerry one, thats from before ye found out that football even existed !!
was football not invneted in 1960 ???
Quote from: ardal on July 29, 2010, 03:59:00 PM
Quote from: A Quinn Martin Production on July 29, 2010, 03:40:00 PM
The GAA withdrew the licence in March 2010. The accounts to June 2008 showed losses in excess of £3mill. The failure of Gaelic Gear is nothing to do with the GAA's failure to renew the licence.
Hello planet earth. Ignore the accounts / debts for a minute, but are you saying that a company like Gaelic Gear who are targeting the GAA market wouldn't be able to get out of the hole a little easier if they'd retained the license? Please tell me you're a civil servant.
How can you ignore the accounts? AQMP is saying that the hole was being dug way before the licence was withdrawn, ie they weren't functioning even with the licence. I just took at look at the accounts. In 2008 they made a loss of about £375k. But before that, the losses accumulated to that date were about £2.9m. This is 3 years before the licence was withdrawn, plus it was not in the time of economic recession. Liabilities completely outweighed assets. The company was fecked back in 2008 and I dread to think how much money that poor owner pumped in.
Quote from: ardal on July 29, 2010, 03:59:00 PM
Quote from: A Quinn Martin Production on July 29, 2010, 03:40:00 PM
The GAA withdrew the licence in March 2010. The accounts to June 2008 showed losses in excess of £3mill. The failure of Gaelic Gear is nothing to do with the GAA's failure to renew the licence.
Hello planet earth. Ignore the accounts / debts for a minute, but are you saying that a company like Gaelic Gear who are targeting the GAA market wouldn't be able to get out of the hole a little easier if they'd retained the license? Please tell me you're a civil servant.
Hello planet earth....please tell me you're not involved in business
Quote from: Rois on July 29, 2010, 04:12:08 PM
Quote from: ardal on July 29, 2010, 03:59:00 PM
Quote from: A Quinn Martin Production on July 29, 2010, 03:40:00 PM
The GAA withdrew the licence in March 2010. The accounts to June 2008 showed losses in excess of £3mill. The failure of Gaelic Gear is nothing to do with the GAA's failure to renew the licence.
Hello planet earth. Ignore the accounts / debts for a minute, but are you saying that a company like Gaelic Gear who are targeting the GAA market wouldn't be able to get out of the hole a little easier if they'd retained the license? Please tell me you're a civil servant.
How can you ignore the accounts? AQMP is saying that the hole was being dug way before the licence was withdrawn, ie they weren't functioning even with the licence. I just took at look at the accounts. In 2008 they made a loss of about £375k. But before that, the losses accumulated to that date were about £2.9m. This is 3 years before the licence was withdrawn, plus it was not in the time of economic recession. Liabilities completely outweighed assets. The company was fecked back in 2008 and I dread to think how much money that poor owner pumped in.
Plus it's reported that he gave personal guarantees against some of the bank loans/overdraft. Not pretty.
Quote from: wobbller on July 29, 2010, 04:36:48 PM
An old saying says that bad news comes in three's .That's 2 Tyrone bad luck sories,Jerome,this guy and next up is Tyrone on Saturday.
The owner of Gaelic Gear is not from Tyrone.
Quote from: wobbller on July 29, 2010, 04:53:26 PM
Quote from: A Quinn Martin Production on July 29, 2010, 04:43:20 PM
Quote from: wobbller on July 29, 2010, 04:36:48 PM
An old saying says that bad news comes in three's .That's 2 Tyrone bad luck sories,Jerome,this guy and next up is Tyrone on Saturday.
The owner of Gaelic Gear is not from Tyrone.
I'd heard he was.
Nah, not really a GAA man either, he just saw what he thought was a gap in the market.
Quote from: Mac Eoghain on July 29, 2010, 04:25:27 PM
Its surprising that the owners of the warehouse didnt accept the offer of the CVA - surely if HMRC are also listed as creditors that they will get first call on any assets of the wound-up business, whereas under the CVA the owners of the warehouse might have got x pence in the pound. As it would stand and assuming HMRC liabilities they will get x% of nothing...
Is that still the case? I'm not convinced HMRC is paid before any other unsecured creditor these days, certainly not in the UK, and certainly not in administrations in NI, but liquidations may be different - I haven't seen one in years.
Gaelic Gear were very generous to London CB too back in 2005 or so but the real issue was quality. They just couldn't deliver a product that looked good, had quality and people could believe in. And it wasn't just their jerseys that were of poor quality. The t-shirts and track suits were pretty awful too. The Australian Board were also contracted to them in some way or another and all games at the State games were supposed to be played using Gaelic Gear balls. In general they would try and enforce the rule but it was like playing with an out-of-shape balloon. It's a pity that they didn't succeed as O'Neills really do have the whole thing sown up but at the end of the day, if your product isn't up to scratch then you have no right to succeed.
As for Campbell, I believe he is of Tyrone ancestry but not from there himself. Omagh I think. If I'm not mistaken he is a chemist by profession. I maybe wrong though.
Quote from: irunthev on July 29, 2010, 05:14:17 PM
Gaelic Gear were very generous to London CB too back in 2005 or so but the real issue was quality. They just couldn't deliver a product that looked good, had quality and people could believe in. And it wasn't just their jerseys that were of poor quality. The t-shirts and track suits were pretty awful too. The Australian Board were also contracted to them in some way or another and all games at the State games were supposed to be played using Gaelic Gear balls. In general they would try and enforce the rule but it was like playing with an out-of-shape balloon. It's a pity that they didn't succeed as O'Neills really do have the whole thing sown up but at the end of the day, if your product isn't up to scratch then you have no right to succeed.
As for Campbell, I believe he is of Tyrone ancestry but not from there himself. Omagh I think. If I'm not mistaken he is a chemist by profession. I maybe wrong though.
Yes he is a pharmacist by trade....from the Springfield Road though I do believe his he married a woman from about Hub Hughes country
Their stuff was f**king brutal. The GAA were right to withdraw the licence - dont they have a duty to ensure that products they endorse are of a decent quality??
Quote from: ardal on July 29, 2010, 03:34:32 PM
A couple of years back; 2007, I was setting up a new club, and contacted both O'Neills and Gaelic Gear about supplying some basic needs. Gaelic Gear ended up sending me 15 of their match balls for next to nothing (think it worked out at €15 per ball). this was exactly what we needed as didn't have a penny to our name. The ECB had also put us in contact with O'Neills for their special deal / agreement, but it worked put at €50 per ball. The service from Gaelic game was fantastic and we were really grateful to them, but shortly after we held our first tournament the balls went pear shaped; literally. so at the end of the day quality was an issue, but I'd still like to know why HQ withdrew the license. Competition is essential in this market, as the cost of GAA Gear can be a little excessive, especially taking into consideration that O'Neills have a solid, guaranteed, consistent market. A sad day indeed
I think you answered your own question there. You only get a license if you deserve. Their products obviosuly were not up to scratch so how could the GAA endorse them?
Their stuff was rubbish. The fact that they couldn't hold onto any counties says it all. Awful brand name too.
If they were renting premises I doubt they would actually have any assetts so it would be pointless for the creditor to hold out any hope of payment.
alot if socalist on today a shot company making shit gear snd peole are sad to see it close , why ?
because of competition . its because of competition they are closing down.
Oneills is a good example that you dont need to race to the bottom to be sucessfull. people will pay a premium for quality
Quote from: Take Your Points on July 29, 2010, 09:47:21 PM
Does anyone know how much of a product has to be manufactured in Ireland to be licensed by GAA for use in their games?
I would imagine that the material used to make the modern jersey is manufactured outside the country in specialist plants in eastern Europe or in Asia, probably China. Can anyone confirm?
I think Romania. They do their rugby jerseys
I'd say Gaelic Gear would have take a share of the blame. In 2006 our club celebrated their centenary and we decided to bring out a new jersey for just the one year. It was to be a mix of our current colours and the colours we wore in 1906. The order was for 50 long sleeve and 50 short sleeve for the senior team and about another 100 in various sizes for sale with more to come if it proved popular, which it did. I rang Gaelic Gear and you would think I was doing them a favour. They promised to call back on several occasions but never did, got my name wrong and posted a sample to the wrong county before I realised that I should see what O'Neills could do. I had avoided them up to this point as I'd heard some horror stories. But they gave me a date an a price and delivered exactly what I asked for when they said they would.
Just to clear up a few things regarding Paul Campbell, his wife was Cassidy from tattyreagh/fintona and he is a pharmacist who had shops in a few Belfast locations including the Springfield road but he is not from Tyrone, I'm pretty sure he is from Fermanagh.
have they still got their box in croke?
Their website is still going?
You could only get in with Croke Park if you agreed to buy a box from them, I know this to have happened with a major brand when they enquired...
Our reserve jerseys were made by GG, bad fit and not comfortable, especially around the neck.
A few lads always wore t-shirts underrneath because the material was brutal on the nipples, they would go red raw!
I wonder azzurri are doing, I see they still make the shirts fro donegal and waterford.
Quote from: southdown on August 11, 2010, 11:49:37 AM
Our reserve jerseys were made by GG, bad fit and not comfortable, especially around the neck.
A few lads always wore t-shirts underrneath because the material was brutal on the nipples, they would go red raw!
I wonder azzurri are doing, I see they still make the shirts fro donegal and waterford.
jesus, Kerry football is fooked. We got beaten by lads who complain about a bit of auld nipple burn ::)
one run in with these shower, they promised us new jerseys for 3 months and one week before the start of the league there was no sign. our chairman drove to the warehouse and got the runaround. there were no workers, no sowing machines, just boxes its obvious that the stuff was being made up overseas and not irish made therefore no license. we went cap in hand to oneills and told them what happened, we had our jerseys in 3 days they were brilliant. oneillls are a great company and deserve our support. good riddance gaelic gear
Quote from: southdown on August 11, 2010, 11:49:37 AM
Our reserve jerseys were made by GG, bad fit and not comfortable, especially around the neck.
A few lads always wore t-shirts underrneath because the material was brutal on the nipples, they would go red raw!
I wonder azzurri are doing, I see they still make the shirts fro donegal and waterford.
Am nearly sure there doing Sligo to.
I think a few years back Gaelic Gear had their footballs GAA approved to be used in big matches but later complained that they had never been used during the Championship instead of the O'Neills ball.
So who are the "official suppliers" of gaa jersies etc.?
We have O'Neills - Azzuri - Malley Sport?? - Into Sport..............
Any others??
I had an Adidas Kerry shirt before, did Kerry also have a shirt made my Millfields or something like that?
The GAA's official suppliers are at the link below
http://www.gaa.ie/tickets-and-merchandise/approved-suppliers/ (http://www.gaa.ie/tickets-and-merchandise/approved-suppliers/)
Quote from: laoisgaa on August 13, 2010, 01:51:50 PM
The GAA's official suppliers are at the link below
http://www.gaa.ie/tickets-and-merchandise/approved-suppliers/ (http://www.gaa.ie/tickets-and-merchandise/approved-suppliers/)
Thanks Laoisman... never thought I would hear myself say that... ;)