Dubai Duty Free Hits Monthly Sales Record

Jan. 03--Dubai Duty Free, or DDF, on Thursday said it set a new monthly sales record of Dh700 million ($192 million) in December.

In a statement DDF said 2013 was a remarkable year as it recorded 11.4 per cent growth in sales to $1.8 billion. It's operations on 30th anniversary on December 20 also set a new daily sales record of Dh111.88 million, showing a 40 per cent year-on-year growth with the help of 215,000 transactions.

"We are thrilled to announce such a positive year in 2013, which marked our 30th anniversary. The operation went from strength to strength with the opening of Concourse A in Terminal 3 in January and Al Maktoum International in October, with overall sales soaring to a new high," Colm McLoughlin, executive vice-chairman, said in a statement to

The duty free operations recorded a staggering 25,973,819 sales transactions in 2013, which average at 71,161 sales transactions per day. It began new year on a high note and confident of crossing $2 billion sales mark in months to come. From a category point of view, perfumes retained its position as the best-selling category with an increase of 16 per cent year-on-year. Sales of perfumes reached Dh1.06 billion ($289 million), an increase of over Dh148 million ($41 million) over the previous year. Perfumes now contribute 16 per cent towards total sales at Dubai Duty Free sales.

Liquor and gold categories followed with gold recording sales figures of Dh613 million ($168 million) representing an increase of five per cent year-on-year.

Confectionery jumped to the fifth position which increased by 12 per cent to Dh520 million ($142 million) for the year. Other steep increases were seen in watches which rose by 16 per cent to Dh459 million ($126 million), cosmetics rose by 20 per cent to Dh446 million ($122 million) and delicatessen sales rose by 13 per cent to Dh298 million ($82 million). Gifts from Dubai and Handbags and Leather Goods categories have seen an impressive increase of 22 per cent and 46 per cent increase in 2013, respectively. Moreover, sales in DDF Departures rose by 11 per cent while Arrivals sales have shown a 13 per cent increase over last year. Terminal 2, which completed its renovation in December, recorded a 22 per cent increase in sales.



In addition to a remarkable turnover, 2013 provided Dubai Duty Free with major milestones in terms of growth and expansion including the opening of Concourse A, dedicated to Emirates airline fleet of A380s, and the opening of the passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport, collectively providing Dubai Duty Free with over 28,000 square metres of retail space. Looking ahead, Dubai Duty Free will continue to enhance its retail operation in 2014 while maintaining a busy events and promotional calendar, which includes the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, commencing on February 17th to March 1st, 2014 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.

Copyright 2014 - Khaleej Times, Dubai, United Arab Emirate
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