Who says the celebration of Christianity gets lost amid Santa worship at this time of year? At Funky Christmas Jumpers, the big seller in 2013 is a jumper called "Happy Birthday Jesus", which boasts an image of Christ surrounded by balloons. He is giving the two thumbs up to a giant cupcake adorned with a candle. The design has been such a hit that only the XXL size is left in stock.
It is one of 11 new creations by Fabio Molle and Donal McSharry, the retail duo who are now in their sixth year of business at Funky Christmas Jumpers.
Once worn only with a heavy layer of irony, Christmas jumpers have gone mainstream. But the problem with fashion is that once a trend is so successful that it becomes ubiquitous – as Christmas jumpers did last year – it is then vulnerable to falling from favour. Or, as Molle puts it, "once they hit Penneys, they have one or two years' shelf life".
Seasonal fashion items, though they might get a few years’ extra grace, are not immune to the risk.
“I actually think that last year was the peak of it in Ireland,” says Molle, which might be a relief to the reindeer-phobic. But the jumpers’ popularity is plateauing rather than plunging: in 2013, with a little help from Jesus and the replenishing effect of new customers joining its target demographic, sales of Christmas jumpers will be around level on last year, he predicts.
Molle and McSharry have won multiple awards and nominations for their digital marketing strategy and, though they have a pop-up physical store in South William Street in Dublin, 65 per cent of their sales are online.
They are now targeting overseas sales for growth, launching a site for the UK market and recruiting more celebrity brand ambassadors.
At home, their most loyal customer has been Ryan Tubridy, who has worn their jumpers on the Late Late Toy Show for four consecutive years. Being smart online has insulated Funky Christmas Jumpers from the onslaught
of Penneys, according to Molle. The Penneys/Primark chain undercuts the business – and almost everybody else – on price. "They have helped make the market bigger," he says. "Now the challenge is to compete with them."
