Dubai Duty Free announces record results

Print Article E-Mail Article

Dubai Duty Free (DDF) has announced record annual sales of Dh888m ($244m) in 2001, an 11% increase over sales the previous year. The results place DDF among the top seven airport retail operations in the world in terms of turnover.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of the Department of Civil Aviation said: "2001 was on track for being a record year with shopfloor sales consistently higher than the previous year. Despite the impact of global events, the operation has shown significant increases across all sectors and we aim to retain this trend in 2002."

The increases include the rise in sales of electronic goods, which rose by 40% over the previous year. The category now accounts for 11% of total sales. Gold sales continued to lead the way with a record Dh106.2m ($28m).

Commenting on the year's highlights, managing director Colm McLoughlin said: "Overall we have had a great year and one of the memorable moments occurred in October 2001 when the operation was named Airport Retailer of the Year in the Frontier Awards for the second consecutive year. This was an industry first and represents a huge vote of confidence for the new operation in Sheikh Rashid Terminal.

"It has been an incredibly busy year," he added, "and we are determined that 2002 will be equally successful as we head towards our next retail goal of achieving Dh1bn in sales over the next twelve months."