UAE. Confectionery sales at Dubai Duty Free have soared by +16.2% for the five months to May compared with the same period last year.
Sales for the period stand at an impressive US$11,080,735 and account for 6.86% of total Dubai Duty Free sales.
The retailer said the category now ranks number six in terms of revenue.
In conjunction with its suppliers, Dubai Duty Free has been especially active this year in terms of promotions.
By establishing and focusing on customer feedback and demand for specific types of promotions, the retailer has enjoyed impressive sales for the year-to-date, which it says has benefited all parties – especially the customers. The results are all the more impressive given the war-affected first quarter.
Dubai Duty Free managing director Colm McLoughlin told TasteofBusiness: “Sales in January and February of this year were very strong and overall sales for the first quarter showed a +17% increase over the same period last year. Despite an initial dip in sales during the period of the crisis, sales quickly returned to normal within a couple of weeks.
“The confectionery category is a growing category for Dubai Duty Free and as a result of the Vendor Support programme there have been a number of effective consumer promotions conducted in the past couple of years. These promotional activities, coupled with a wider range of goods, has resulted in greater consumer demand.”
Note: Dubai Duty Free has now become one of the most significant confectionery accounts in the world – duty free or domestic. Earlier this year, Masterfoods International Travel Retail (MITR) announced it had sold a staggering 500 tonnes of MITR confectionery in Dubai International airport during the past year. And Dubai Duty Free posted the highest volume of Nestlé Kit Kat sales worldwide for an individual outlet in 2002, selling the equivalent of over 3,341,250 million Kit Kat four finger bars, or 9,000 bars per day.
