UAE. Dubai Duty Free generated sales of AED196 million (US$54 million) during a 72-hour campaign to mark the retailer’s 34th anniversary. The company offered a special -25% discount on a wide range of merchandise over three days from midnight on 18 December through anniversary day on 20 December.
The discount helped drive strong sales at Dubai International and at Al Maktoum International. Sales figures on 18 December reached AED36.929 million (US$10.117 million) and AED37.216 million (US$10.196 million) on 19 December. On the anniversary day itself, 20 December, Dubai Duty Free sales reached AED121.511 million (US$33.291 million) in the 24-hour period.
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Fragrances led sales by category, hitting AED45.259 million (US$12.4 million) across the period, followed by cosmetics with sales of AED39.329 million (US$10.775 million) and watches at AED35.064 million (US$9.606 million).
Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Colm McLoughlin said: “The anniversary celebrations spread over three days were fantastic. We are glad to see such positive sales results across all the concourses. Extending a -25% discount to our customers is our way of saying thank you for their support throughout the year.”
During the period, Dubai Duty Free’s Distribution Centre issued over 2,283 pallets of merchandise and conducted 212 trips from the warehouse to the airport. The highest number of pallets was issued on 14 December with 897 pallets being delivered in 85 trips.
The total number of picks in the warehouse during this period was 22,077 for 882,559 units of merchandise, with the highest picks on 19 December for over 411,685 units of merchandise.
Over the three-day period, the cash registers recorded 375,000 sales transactions with nearly 107,000 sales transactions alone on 20 December.
The Dubai Duty Free anniversary promotion is now a highly-anticipated event with many travellers choosing to fly 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 34th anniversary also saw a series of celebrations in various locations over three days led by Colm McLoughlin, Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Cidambi and members of the senior management team. They conducted the Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise draws as well as other promotional activities.
Among the Finest Surprise winners was Emmanuel Goulin, Managing Director of L’Oréal Travel Retail Asia Pacific, who won a Porsche Panamera 4 in the prize draw. Goulin secured his place in the draw after he was one of four delegates at The Trinity Forum in Bangkok to win tickets, courtesy of Dubai Duty Free, on the final day of the conference.
Dubai Duty Free staff also enjoyed a special ‘Staff Surprise’ draw which resulted in a total of AED90, 000 being won by employees. In addition, the executive team also awarded a Certificate of Appreciation to long-serving employees who have been with the company for 20 years, 25 years and 30 years respectively.
