UAE. Dubai Duty Free has revealed record annual sales of AED7.885 billion (US$2.16 billion) for 2023, with the figure representing a +24.4% increase over the previous year and a +6.4% rise on pre-pandemic 2019.
December also featured record monthly sales of AED807.6 million (US$221 million), up by +8.4% compared to December 2022.
Sales in the month were fuelled by Dubai Duty Free’s 40th anniversary celebrations when the retailer offered a -25% discount across many products and categories on 20 December. This resulted in US$14.8 million in revenues over 24 hours, as reported.
Dubai Duty Free recorded over 20 million sales transactions throughout the year, or an average of 55,000 per day, selling 55.2 million units of merchandise.
The top five categories for the year were perfumes, liquor, gold, cigarettes & tobacco and electronics. With sales of US$374 million, perfumes contributed 17% of sales and remained the number one category.
Sales of liquor reached US$310 million and accounted for 14% of annual sales. Gold recorded sales of US$212 million and contributed 10% towards total revenue.
Cigarettes & tobacco sales amounted to US$204 million and accounting for 9% of revenue while electronics at US$172 million accounted for 8% of sales.
Online sales accounted for 2% of the sales tally for 2023 and reached US$45 million.
Sales in departures shops reached US$1.93 billion (just over AED7 billion) representing 90% of sales, while arrivals sales reached US$168 million, or 8% of the business.
Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman & CEO Colm McLoughlin said: “We are thrilled to have achieved our target sales for the year, a record month in December and a record year in 2023, which culminated with our celebrations of our milestone 40th anniversary.
“Overall, it has been a fantastic year and I would like to thank our Chairman H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum for his unwavering support. Thanks also to our great team of staff, our suppliers, the media and, of course, our customers, for their contribution to our continued growth and success over four decades.”
In terms of top source markets and their contribution to sales, India was number one with US$266 million, followed by Russia with US$208 million, China with US$154 million, Saudi Arabia with US$140 million, and the UK with US$102 million.
In line with the growth of the business in 2023, the rehiring and recruitment of staff continued with the employee count now standing at 5,500.
Throughout the year, Dubai Duty Free received 18 awards, including its 22nd consecutive Business Traveller Middle East Award for Best Airport for Duty Free Shopping in the Middle East, the Gulf Business Retail Company of the Year award and the 17th consecutive Global Traveler Award for Best Duty-Free Shopping in the World.
Colm McLoughlin was also the recipient of personal awards including the Pearl Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Travel Industry, which was created to mark the 30th edition of the Arabian Travel Market.
He was also presented with the inaugural Frontier Pioneer Award at the Frontier Awards in Cannes in October. McLoughlin was also named as one of The Moodie Davitt Report’s People of the Year for 2023, as reported.
Looking ahead, Dubai Duty Free plans refurbishment plans at DXB Concourse B, to be completed early this year. Renovations of three arrivals shops will begin in the first quarter of 2024, with construction to continue until the second to third quarter of 2024.
Concourse A (two beauty shops and the main fashion area) will also be refurbished starting in the second quarter of 2024. This will be finished in early to mid-2025 with three new boutiques representing major fashion brands set to open.
In addition, Dubai Duty Free will continue to maintain its strong events and promotional calendar. This includes the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships to be staged at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium from 18 February to 2 March. ✈
