O 'Neills Irish International Sports, whose core business is producing and selling a range of sports and leisure wear with a particular focus on the GAA sports clothing market, has scored a major victory of its own at Titanic Belfast.
It came when the Strabane-headquartered company carried off the Innovative Employer (medium/large) accolade for the first time at the Irish News Workplace & Employment Awards. O'Neills has always been driven by innovation. As the only remaining large-scale textile business in Ireland, its longevity and success can be easily attributed to its ability to harness innovation, developing new products and processes, and in engaging, empowering and rewarding its staff.
The company's strategic goal is to double sales by 2016 while improving its margin. And innovative approaches to developing new products, services and people skills are fundamental to this aim. Indeed in the last year innovation has been formally embedded as one of O'Neills' six strategic themes to achieve this goal (the other five themes are: improve production efficiency and costs; grow GB sales; grow e-commerce sales; develop the contracts business; and communication and people development).
O'Neills now has a specific programme in place to deliver its innovation agenda, which has a fundamental role in new product development, in targeting new markets and in developing existing products.
Recent product innovations at O'Neills include production of fully-personalised playing jerseys and replica kits through investment in technology and training; development of the O'Neills hurling helmet and diversification into new sports including cricket, handball, rugby league and cycling; and innovation in new national and international markets.
The company has also created a dedicated contacts team and specialised sales team based in Britain, while in March it opened its first French showroom in Pau.
Fundamental to the firm's continued growth has been the willingness and drive of staff at al levels to embrace innovation.
In January, for instance, the company invested £3 million in new technology and training. It has also embedded a new communications strategy to empower and engage its 400 staff across the business in its sites in Strabane, Belfast and its retail outlets.