Record year end results for Dubai Duty Free

The year-end results are a welcome indicator for the retail sector as a whole and firmly place Dubai Duty Free among the top seven airport retail operations in the world in terms of turnover.

Commenting on the annual results, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Department of Civil Aviation said: '2001 was on track for being a record year with shopfloor sales consistently higher than the previous year. Despite the impact of global events, the operation has shown significant increases across all sectors and we aim to retain this trend in 2002.'

Such increases include the rise in sales of Electronic goods at Dubai Duty Free, which leapt by 40% over the previous year. The Electronics category now accounts for 11% of total sales and is a close contender for the No. 1 spot, which is traditionally retained by Gold. In 2001 Gold sales within Dubai Duty Free reached an all time high of Dhs106.2 million (US$28 million).

In addition to impressive sales results, 2001 featured a number of milestones for Dubai Duty Free, which celebrated 18 years of operation in December.

Commenting on the year's highlights, Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free said: 'Overall we have had a great year and one of the memorable moments occurred in October 2001 when the operation was named 'Airport Retailer of the Year'
in the Frontier Awards for the second consecutive year. This was an industry first and represents a huge vote of confidence for the new operation in Sheikh Rashid Terminal.'

Another milestones for Dubai Duty Free was the draw for the 1,000th Finest Surprise luxury car, which took place in July 2001 and represented the promotion's 12th year in existences. The winning car, a magnificent Ferrari maranello was won by a 24-year old Iranian living in Dubai.

In November 2001, Dubai Duty Free teamed up with the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation to launch a US$2.5 million advertising campaign on CNN International. The campaign, which features a series of 24 mini-documentaries aimed at raising awareness of Dubai's rich cultural heritage, will run over two years and will reach a TV audience of over 240 million.

Bringing the year to a close in December, the operation joined forces with American Express to launch a co-branded credit card that offered card members a host of unique benefits including a 10% discount on a huge range of duty free products.

'It has been an incredibly busy year,' continued Mr. McLoughlin, 'and we are determined that 2002 will be equally successful as we head towards our next retail goal of achieving Dhs1 billion in sales over the next twelve months.'