Dubai Duty Free sales hit US$52.3 million during anniversary campaign : Moodie Davitt Report

UAE. Dubai Duty Free sales during a three-day campaign to mark its 35^th anniversary hit AED191 million (US$52.33million), the company has revealed.

As reported, the retailer offered a special -25% discount on many products in a promotion that ended at midnight Dubai time on 20 December. [See below for a special edition of The Moodie Davitt e-Zine Spotlight Series, which honours Dubai Duty Free’s 35th anniversary.]

Red letter day: (Above) The Dubai Duty Free senior management team, led by Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Colm McLoughlin, marks the anniversary with a ceremonial cake during the celebrations on 20 December. (Below) McLoughlin salutes the milestone with staff in Concourse C.

The campaign delivered what the retailer called “a spending spree” at Dubai International and at Al Maktoum International. Sales on 18 December reached AED42.89 million (US$11.75 million) and AED41.25 million (US$11.30 million) on 19 December. On the anniversary day, 20 December, sales reached AED106.80 million (US$29.26 million) in the 24-hour period.

With US$12.6 million in sales over three days, cosmetics led the performance by category at Dubai Duty Free during the anniversary campaign.

Cosmetics was the highest selling category over the period with sales of AED46 million (US$12.6 million) followed by watches at AED35.48 million (US$9.72 million) and perfumes at AED34.23 million (US$9.37 million).

Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Colm McLoughlin said: “The anniversary celebrations spread over three days were fantastic and received positive results across all the concourses. I would like to thank everyone, in particular our customers and our staff who did a great job in serving the high number of passengers.”

Brand owners took the opportunity of the 35th anniversary to create some special products. Here, The Glenlivet Master Distiller Alan Winchester presents Colm McLoughlin with a 35yo expression, of which just 35 were created, exclusively for Dubai Duty Free.

Over the three-day period, the cash registers recorded a total of 364,320 sales transactions with nearly 103,626 sales transactions alone on 20 December.

Glenfiddich Malt Master Brian Kinsman presents Colm McLoughlin with a bottle of the Scotch whisky brand’s 1977 Rare Collection, to mark the occasion.

The Dubai Duty Free senior team of Colm McLoughlin and (from left) Sharon Beecham, Saba Tahir, Salah Tahlak, Sinead El Sibai and Bernard Creed join Ferragamo Travel Retail Manager EMEA Alessandra Gaspari (third from right) to officially open the Italian brand’s latest store.

Dubai Duty Free’s Distribution Centre issued 2,501 pallets of merchandise and conducted 228 trips from the warehouse to the airport. The total number of picks in the warehouse during this period was 23,383 for 873,480 units of merchandise.

The Dubai Duty Free anniversary promotion is now a highly-anticipated event with many travellers choosing to travel on the days when the -25% discount is offered. The first anniversary sale Dubai Duty Free introduced was on its 20th anniversary in 2003.

The 35^th anniversary also saw a series of celebrations led by McLoughlin and members of the senior management team. They conducted two Millennium Millionaire and four Finest Surprise draws as well as other promotional activities. The Dubai Duty Free staff also enjoyed a special ‘Staff Surprise’ draw.

In addition, the executive team awarded Certificates of Appreciation to employees who have been with the company for 20 years, 25 years, 30 years and 35 years respectively.

Related Articles