Dubai Duty Free revenues to cross Dh2.56b

Dubai: Dubai Duty Free's annual revenue is poised to cross Dh2.56 billion ($700 million) by the end of this year, that represents 70 per cent of the UAE's and 50 per cent of the Middle East's duty free sale, a top official said yesterday.

"We have already crossed Dh2.1 billion ($572 million) in sales. We are well positioned to achieve the Dh2.56 billion sale mark by the end of this year, which would represent about five per cent of global airport duty free sales," Colm McLaughlin, managing director of the Dubai Duty Free (DDF) and president of the Middle East Duty Free Association (Medfa), told Gulf News yesterday.

"This is nearly half of the $1.5 billion sales generated in the duty free shops across the Middle East's airports.

"The global duty free market is about $28 billion, half of which are generated at the airports. Our $700 million represents five per cent of the $14 billion duty free sales at all the airports worldwide.

"We are currently ranked third in terms of operation and sale, after London Heathrow and Seoul. We expect to overtake Seoul by next year."

DDF's success comes with that of Dubai International Airport's (DIA) and Emirates airline's continued success. Last year, passenger throughput at DIA increased by 14 per cent to 24.7 million.

"Duty free penetration at DIA is 45 per cent, nearly three times that of the global average of 16 per cent. This means that nearly one among two passengers shop at the DDF," McLaughlin said."

Average passenger spend at DDF is $43, much higher than the global average."He said that DDF will expand significantly when Terminal 3/Concourse 2 becomes operational next year. "We will add 8,000 square meters of space in Concourse 2, on top of the existing 7,000 square metres space that we have already," he said.

"We are significantly enhancing our storage capability by investing Dh100 million in a new storage facility near the airport, currently under construction," he said.

He said, the DDF is losing Dh60,000 to Dh70,000 per day due to India's security regulations. Besides, its sale has also been affected due to the European Union's ban on liquid following the recent terror alert. He suggested travelers take note of the regulations before flying.