DUBAI, UAE – The New Year began on a high note for Dubai Duty Free with the announcement of an all-time sales record of US$2.16 billion (AED 7.885 billion) for 2023, representing a 24.39 percent increase over the previous year and 6.4 percent up on pre-pandemic in 2019.
December finished with record monthly sales of US$221 million (AED 807.6 million), an 8.37 percent increase compared to 2022.
December sales were further fuelled by Dubai Duty Free’s 40th anniversary celebrations when the operation offered a 25 percent discount on December 20, which resulted in a shopping spree of US$14.8 million (AED 54.1 million) for 24 hours.
Reflecting on the year at Dubai Duty Free, Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman CEO, said, “We are thrilled to have achieved our target sales for the year, a record month in December and a record year in 2023, which culminated with our celebrations of our milestone 40th Anniversary.”
He said, “It has been a fantastic year and I would like to thank our Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum for his unwavering support.”
He added, “Thanks also to our great team, our suppliers, the media and of course, our customers, for their contribution to our continued growth and success over four decades.”
The operation recorded over 20 million sales transactions throughout the year, or an average of 55,000 sales transactions per day, while a staggering 55.2 million units of merchandise were sold.
The top five selling categories for the year were perfumes followed by liquor, gold, cigarettes tobacco and electronics.
With sales of US$374 million (AED 1.366 billion), perfume contributed 17 percent of total sales and retained its position as the top selling category.
Sales of liquor reached US$310 million (AED 1.130 billion) and accounted for 14 percent of the total annual sales.
Meanwhile, gold recorded sales of US$212 million (AED 773,506 million) and contributed 10 percent towards total revenue.
Cigarettes tobacco came in fourth place with sales amounting to US$204 million (AED 745,694 million) and accounted for 9.5 percent of total revenue while electronics came in fifth place with sales of US$172 million (AED 628 million) and accounted for 8 percent of total annual sales.
Online sales accounted for 2 percent of the overall sales tally for 2023 and reached US$45 million (AED 164 million).
Sales in departures across the operation reached US$1.93 billion (AED 7.062 billion) representing 90 percent of total annual sales, while arrivals sales totalled US$168 million (AED 612 million), representing 8 percent of total annual sales.
In terms of top source markets for Dubai Duty Free sales, India is number one with US$266 million (AED 973 million) sales, followed by Russia with US$208 million (AED 759 million), China with US$154 million (AED 564 million), Saudi Arabia with US$140 million (AED 512 million), and the UK is in fifth place with sales of US$102 million (AED 373 million).
Meanwhile, in line with the growth of the operation, the rehiring and recruitment of staff continued with the total employee count now standing at 5,500.
Throughout the year, the operation received a total of 18 awards, including its 22nd consecutive Business Traveller Middle East Award for “Best Airport for Duty Free Shopping in the Middle East”, the Gulf Business “Retail Company of the Year” award and the seventeenth consecutive Global Traveler Award for “Best Duty-Free Shopping in the World”.
Colm McLoughlin was also the recipient of personal awards including the unique and one-time Pearl Achievement Award for “Outstanding Contribution to the Travel Industry”, which was created to mark the 30th edition of the Arabian Travel Market.
He was also presented with the inaugural “Frontier Pioneer” Award at the Frontier Awards in Cannes in October.
Looking ahead, Dubai Duty Free will continue to enhance its retail operation which includes major refurbishment plans in Concourse B, which will be completed early this year.
The operation is also working on the scheduled renovations of three Arrival shops in the first quarter of 2024, with construction to continue until the second to third quarter of 2024.
Concourse A (2 Perfumes and Cosmetics Shops and Fashion area) will also be refurbished starting in the second quarter of 2024 and will be finished in early to mid-2025 with three new boutiques of major Fashion brands.
In addition, Dubai Duty Free will continue to maintain its busy events and promotional calendar which includes the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships to be staged at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium from the 18th February – 2nd March 2024.