Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
I bet my shirt on love for football tops
Ulsterman’s venture dream come true
A NORTHERN Irish man who left his office job to sell football shirts never thought his dream could become a reality.
Ryan Gilmore opened NI Classic Shirt Co shop in Belfast’s Smithfield Market in July, selling tops from the 1980s through to most recent home and away jerseys from all over the world.
Last Saturday, he moved locations to larger premises in the market due to high demand, and saw scores of people lining up outside his door.
Speaking to the Mirror, the 32-yearold, from Bangor, Co Down, said: “Football was always an interest and my mum was a fan of Manchester United, so by default so was I and thankfully I grew up when they were a successful club. I played a bit of football at the weekends with and always enjoyed football shirts.
“As I grew a bit older I started to understand the culture around shirts a bit more and not just shirts from the UK.
“Seeing Italian shirts on the TV was like a movie star type of thing because you never thought you’d get to see those shirts in person – now I am selling them.
“It feels like every day there is something new happening and I am meeting new people.
“I started off with local teams because they were easier to source, and the good
thing about that was that we had the good fan base here.
“It started easy and those shirts were bringing in some profit.
“Now it’s getting so much bigger. Last weekend I sold a West Germany away shirt for £460. It was mind blowing.
“There’s a real depth of customer base. It’s not just a shirt to them, there are people buying one from their first game as a child, from the year they were born or a different year that means something to them. It is memories and history.”