Dubai Duty Free’s ten month sales up by 16%

Dubai Duty Free is looking to achieve double digit sales growth for the year as sales up to the end of October reached an impressive Dhs4.238bn ($1.161bn), representing a 16% increase over the same period last year. The latest sales figures put the operation on track for year-end sales of an estimated Dhs5.3bn ($1.45bn).

Perfumes, which accounts for 14.6% of total sales at Dubai Duty Free, retained the No. 1 category as sales rose to Dhs616.5m ($169m), while sales of Gold rose by 23% to reach Dhs484m ($133m) in the ten-month period.

Dubai Duty Free has also seen significant increases in sales across all three Terminals for both departing and arriving passengers: (YTD) Terminal 1 has recorded a 14% increase, while Terminal 2 has shown an impressive 36% increase while Terminal 3’s sales have increased by15%. Arrival sales across all Terminals is up by 16%.

Commenting on the ten-month sales figures, Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman of Dubai Duty Free said: “2011 is shaping up to be a record year and we have seen significant increases across the top categories and in the sale of premium goods such as luxury watches and fashion items. We have also seen Electronics grow significantly, driven by the launch of new desirable products featuring the very latest technology. We are looking forward to the remaining two months of the year which are traditionally amongst our busiest.”

Electronics rose by 19% to Dhs331m ($91m), Confectionery was up by 10% with sales of Dhs319m ($87m) while Watches showed an impressive increase of 27% to Dhs280m ($77m) and Cosmetics rose by 22%.

Dubai Duty Free, which first opened for business on the 20th December 1983, celebrates its 28th anniversary this year and the operation has plans in place to make this a memorable occasion. The anniversary day on December 20th will be marked with a 25% discount on a wide range of merchandise, for what has become an annual celebration for all passengers traveling through the airport.