Dubai Duty Free sales grow by 28% in first quarter

Emily Pacey

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Strong growth in the cosmetics and fragrances, jewellery and books categories boosts Dubai Duty Free first quarter results

Sales at Dubai Duty Free (DDF) grew by 28% to reach Dhs730m (US$203m) in the first quarter of 2007 compared with the same period the previous year.

Fragrance sales rose by 31% to reach Dhs100m ($27m). This is now the single biggest category for DDF, accounting for 14% of the retailer’s total sales. Gold jewellery showed the fastest growth with sales rising by 38% to reach Dhs80m ($22m).

Sales of books were also strong at 37% compared with the first quarter of 2006. Cosmetics rose by 36% while sales of cameras and their accessories grew by 22%.

DDF managing director Colm McGloughlin said: “These are great results for the opening months of the year and put us on track for another great year. We have seen substantial increases in our top categories in addition to growth in other categories that are extremely encouraging.”

McLoughlin also commented on the opening of Dubai International airport’s concourse two and terminal three. “We are all gearing up for the opening of the new concourse and terminal three at the end of the year and looking forward to the major opportunities that this will lead to in terms of design and development of an additional 8,000sq m (86,111sq ft) of retail space, a substantial increase in staffing levels, and the completion and relocation to our state-of-the-art warehouse and logistics centre.”