Colm McLoughlin: Dubai Duty Free buoyed by Concourse D opening

UAE. The opening of Dubai International Concourse D on 24 February has buoyed Dubai Duty Free’s business in the first two months of trading. That’s according to Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman Colm McLoughlin.

Speaking to The Moodie Davitt Report in Dubai, he said: “Concourse D is already helping to grow our business. It will soon represent close to one quarter of our sales and is delivering healthy levels of penetration.

“Early this year sales were down on last year by -4% or a little more. But that trend is being reversed and now [in the period to 18 April -Ed] we are just -2.2% down and I expect that positive trend to continue through the year.” In 2015, the business was affected by external factors such as currency exchange rates, notably relating to the Euro and Rouble.

Concourse D (subject of a major publication coming soon from Moodie Davitt Corporate) extended the airport’s capacity to over 90 million passengers a year and added 7,000sq m to Dubai Duty Free’s footprint.

On the new environment, McLoughlin said: “Our space in Concourse D is very customer-friendly, with the shops close to other services such as dining, a nice layout and flow, wide aisles for passengers and none of the gates are a long distance away. We learned lessons from what we had done differently in other terminals and put those into practice here.”

As previously reported, all passengers through Concourse D, whether departing or transit, go through the walk-through retail offer to access the departure gates on each side of the building. The main walkway flows past two promotional circles, adjacent to a palm tree feature, and passes between the main liquor & tobacco store on the left and fragrances & cosmetics on the right.

The largest area by category is beauty, in 1,500sq m of space, with a combination of wall- based, freestanding and walkway island presentations. The liquor store in 930sq m includes segmented zones for spirits, whisky, wines and premiums. Food Plus, a vital category for Dubai Duty Free, takes over 850sq m of space.

Another major category, gold & precious stones is situated centrally as the passengers enter the Departures lounge. Arranged as two circular counter islands and covering 350sq m, the layout aims to encourage passengers to pause as they move through the department.

Gifts from Dubai in 323sq m offers a wide range of souvenirs, ranging from confectionery to ornaments, and aims to offer a “uniquely Dubai shopping experience” according to the retailer.

This core offer is complemented by electronics in two locations, a strong watches offer and a vibrant new fashion zone in 1,000sq m of total space.

The fashion range features brands such as Burberry, Tory Burch, Tiffany, Michael Kors, Salvatore Ferragamo, Longchamp, Coach, Armani Jeans, Lacoste, DKNY, Swarovski, Frey Wille, Furla, Etienne Aigner, Guess and Pashma.

There is also an area for men’s fashion with brands like Hugo Boss, Paul Smith and Tumi along with Ralph Lauren, plus a children’s wear concept with brands such as Fendi, Little Marc Jacobs, Sonia Rykiel and Boss Kids.

McLoughlin said that Concourse D will ultimately account for 23-24% of the business, compared with Concourse B at around 35% and Concourse A at 21%.