Duty-free Revenues at Dubai Airport Hit US$2 Billion in 11 Months
It is forecasted that spending on Dubai Duty-Free will exceed US$2 billion by the end of 2024. Total sales in November stood at US$ 205.67 million and ranked the retailer fifth fifth-best month on record. It reached its highest daily sales on the 30th of November at US$ 8.46 million, and the second highest on the 29th of November at US$ 8.24 million.
Ramesh Cidambi, the Managing Director at Dubai Duty Free was satisfied with his company's results considering trading conditions that were difficult. Cidambi stated, "I am very happy with the sales performance in November, which was against tough trading conditions including the sales in boutiques for the major fashion brands being lower than last year and refurbishment projects in the Arrivals shops in all three terminals."
The strong performance was due to the sales drive and the reduction in the budgeted to actual expenditure per passenger. He also said, “Thanks to the continuous effort of our entire team, I look forward to another great month in December as we head into a busy holiday season and expect to close the year with excellent results.”
Leading Categories in Sales
The major categories that sold during the first eleven months of this year were Perfumes, Liquor, Tobacco, and Gold. Cologne was the leading subsector, posting a sales figure of $362 million, up from $330 million recorded in 2023. Closely following was liquor sales at US$ 258.37 million followed by Tobacco products with $ 200.52 Million, up from 2023 by a 10% estimation.
Sales of gold stood at US$ 194.57 million, up by a mere 2% compared with the same period of the previous year. Electronics closed the list with US$134 million in sales.
Dubai Duty Free on Track for $2 Billion in Sales
Besides the excellent November sales, the company has achieved sales of US$1.94 billion for the year and may cross the US$2 billion mark after the upheavals somewhat stabilized. Nevertheless, it is one percentage point behind the US$2.16 billion generated in 2023, thus, pointing to the impacts of the challenging trading environment. Leading the sales categories are perfumes with a current year growth of 10% to $362 million while tobacco products also continued to perform well with an 8% growth contributing $200.52 million.
The retailer has stepped up investment in refurbishing its arrivals shops in all three terminals to improve amenities for passengers, especially in shopping. As December is a traditional high-profile month boosted by a 25% off promotion in celebration of the company’s 41st anniversary, Dubai Duty Free confidently predicts a successful end to this year with the added help of the festive period.
Prepare for a Strong Finish
Dubai Duty Free has been prepositioning itself for the upcoming festive season, which is normally busy. It will be 41 years since the creation of the company and on that occasion, there will be a 25% discount on many products, both on the Internet and in stores, on December 20. The retailer has historically experienced a record year in December, expected to be the best because of travel and holiday promotions.
On the other hand, Dubai Duty Free is looking forward to the end of this year, not only because of the company’s hard work on increasing sales and improving the quality of service.
