New sunglass shop boosts sales at Dubai

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Dubai Duty Free (DDF) has enjoyed a 30% increase in sales of sunglasses since the opening of a new dedicated store in the Sheikh Rashid complex earlier this year

Sales in 2002 were already up 27% on the previous year, according to the retailer.

DDF managing director Colm McLoughlin commented: "We have witnessed a tremendous increase in demand for sunglasses, which were originally located within the Sports and Fashion area. This increase is due in part to the growing appeal of sunglasses as a fashion accessory and to the wide range of glasses now available. As a result of this demand, it makes sense to create a dedicated retail area which makes sunglasses even more accessible to travellers."

The new store, located next to the fragrance outlet and close to DDF's gold shop, will allow the operator to increase its sunglasses offer by 50%.

Meanwhile, DDF has announced its first quarter sales for 2003. Total sales reached Dh294m ($80m), a 17% increase year-on-year, though McLoughlin acknowledged that sales had dipped since the onset of the conflict in Iraq.
"Given the difficult circumstances, which have led to a reduction in global travel, we are pleased to see that our sales figures are quite resilient. January was a record month, and this has helped boost first quarter figures. In the meantime, we are continuing with our shop-floor refurbishment plans which include the recent opening of the new sunglass shop and the redesign of the gold shop."

Key categories for DDF in the first quarter included electronics, which showed a year-on-year sales increase of 29%, and fragrances, which grew by 20%. Strong increases were posted in Dubai's terminal two, which caters mainly for charter traffic and east European flights.