Milestone year for Dubai Duty Free as record sales announced

In a year that witnessed the doubling of its retail operation with the opening of Emirates Terminal 3, Dubai Duty Free has announced annual sales of Dhs3.950bn ($1.1bn), representing a 23% increase over the previous year.

Commenting on the annual sales, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Department of Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Airports, said:

"This anniversary year has been a remarkable one for Dubai Duty Free. Breaking the $1bn sales milestone in December has been a great achievement and I congratulate the team at Dubai Duty Free for setting a new retailing benchmark and for firmly establishing its position as one of the top duty free operations in the world."

December itself was a record month with sales reaching a new monthly high Dhs403m ($111m) while on the anniversary day itself (December, 20th) all former daily records were broken as sales soared to Dhs71m ($20m). Meanwhile, on the 17th December, the milestone figure of $1bn was crossed.

Commenting on an extraordinary end to the year, Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, said:

"Crossing the $1bn was a great achievement and my thanks goes to all who have helped up achieve this great milestone. Also, on the anniversary day itself, our sales in that one day were the equivalent of our first full year of operation (1984)."

"This is a fantastic end to the year and I would like to extend my thanks for his support and guidance to H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Airports. I also thank our team of staff who grew to 3,700 this year and who do a great job in providing a first class operation 24 hours a day," McLoughlin added.

In 2008, Dubai Duty Free recorded a total over 21 million sales transactions, which averages at around 58,000 transactions per day, up 11% on 2007.

Category wise, Perfumes continued to be the highest selling category at Dubai Duty Free in 2008 with annual sales topping Dhs560m ($155m) which represents 14% of total sales. Liquor retained its No. 2 position with sales of Dhs517m ($144m) and Gold was the third highest selling category with sales of Dhs448m ($125m).

In addition to remarkable sales, 2008 provided Dubai Duty Free with major milestones in terms of growth and expansion. In the summer, the operation opened its purpose-built Head Office and Distribution Centre in Ramoul, which provides 6.000 square metres of office space and 27,000 square metres of warehousing.

The opening of Terminal 3 in October 2008, provided an extra 8,000 square metres of retail space for Dubai Duty Free which also operates a further 7,000 square metres across Terminals 1 and 2. Staffing levels increased in line with the expansion and currently Dubai Duty Free employees total 3,700.

Awards came thick and fast in 2008 and in January the first of several awards, the Global Traveller Awards was presented at a ceremony in New York. In March Dubai Duty Free once again received the DFNI Global Award for 'Airport Retailer of the Year', while in may the DFNI Award - Asia Pacific was presented for 'Middle East Retailer of the Year'. Also in May, Dubai Duty Free won the Business Traveller Middle East Award for 'Best Duty Free Shopping'.

The Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, Dubai Duty Free's premier sporting event, was once again recognized by the ATP Tour as it received the 'Media Award of Excellence'.

On the sporting front, Dubai Duty Free continued to support sport at the highest level and became the title sponsor of the Irish Derby which was held at the Curragh in June.