First quarter sales show 17 percent rise for Dubai Duty Free

Commenting on the latest sales results, Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free said: "Given the difficult circumstances, which have led to a reduction in global travel, we are pleased to see that our sales figures are quite resilient."

Acknowledging that sales figures had dipped in the past few weeks, Mr. McLoughlin added: "Sales for the first two months of the year were particularly strong, in fact January was a record month, and this has helped boost first quarter figures. In the meantime, we are continuing with our shopfloor refurbishment plans which include the recent opening of the new Sunglass Shop and the redesign of the Gold Shop."

First quarter figures show an increase of 29% in the Electronics category, while Gold sales rose by 13% and Perfumes by 20%. In the first three months, a major increase in duty free sales was also recorded in Terminal 2, which primarily caters to charter traffic and Eastern European flights.

"In the first quarter, Terminal 2 sales have increased by 40% which is very encouraging. This is due in part to a reassessment of our product lines in Terminal 2 and an increase in the number of passengers using the Terminal," added Mr. McLoughlin.

Record breaking sales were a continual theme for Dubai Duty Free in 2002 with the year end sales topping Dhs1.1 billion (US$306 million), a 23% increase over the previous year.