Dubai Duty Free surpasses $2bn in sales

The retailer also recorded more than 3.5 per cent growth year-on-year

December 30, 2018

Airport retailer Dubai Duty Free announced on Saturday that it had surpassed $2bn (Dhs7.3bn) in sales – the largest amount in its 35 year history.

The company also revealed it had achieved more than 3.5 per cent growth year-on-year – in line with passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport, which achieved its own milestone earlier in December by receiving its billionth passenger.

Executive vice chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, Colm McLoughlin, said: “We have been tracking the sales figures hour-by-hour over the past couple of days and it is fantastic to have achieved this figure before the end of the year.”

The company said it passed the $2bn mark when retired Danish couple Paul and Annelise Christensen purchased a camera worth Dhs1,999 in Concourse B at 12.43am on December 29.

The couple were travelling through Dubai from Copenhagen to Sydney for their wedding anniversary in what was their first visit to the emirate. Senior Dubai Duty Free officials presented them with a $2,000 gift card.

Earlier this month the retailer recorded Dhs191m ($52.33m) worth of sales during a three-day discount promotion to mark its 35th anniversary, which fell on December 20.

The sale between December 18-120 offered a 25 per cent discount on merchandise at both Dubai International and at Al Maktoum International airports.

Sales figures stood at Dhs42.89m on December 18, Dhs41.25m on December 19 and Dhs106.8m on December 20.

In its first full year of business after launching in 1983, Dubai Duty Free recorded sales of $20m. Its growth over the years has seen its staff number surging from 100 when it launched to 6,200 today. Of those original 100 employees, 26 are still in active service.

The retailer announced a return to sales growth last year after two years of declining purchases, with sales of Dhs7.05bn – an increase of 5.6 per cent year-on-year.

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