Abu Dhabi Duty Free to pass $100m sales in 2007

Gavin Lipsith

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The retailer has made bold predictions for year-end sales based on a strong first-half performance in which turnover was up by almost a third on the previous corresponding period

Abu Dhabi Duty Free has recorded a 33.26% increase in turnover for the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, prompting general manager Niveen Ibrahim to predict that full-year sales will surpass $100m. The increase was driven by rapid growth in some key product categories and the retailer’s success in raising spend per departing passenger to $51, up 10.5% from last year.

The airport retail categories key to ADDF’s impressive growth have been in electronics, up 51%, fragrances and cosmetics (44.3%), Gold (44%), leathergoods (87.7%), cigars (57.8%) and luxury goods by (34.3%).

Ibrahim said that she was confident that two new concepts—dedicated “His’n’Her” fashion boutique Domo and the new “48-hour arrival shop” announced on RavenFox.com last week—would drive sales beyond $100m by the end of 2007.

Ibrahim said: “The first half of 2007 has been an exciting time for all of us at Abu Dhabi Duty Free and we are delighted that the results reflect the steady and extremely strong start we have been realizing right from the beginning of the year.” said Niveen Ibrahim, General Manager, Abu Dhabi Duty Free.