QATAR. Qatar Duty Free Senior Vice President Thabet Musleh says the retailer will maintain a laser focus on pioneering transit tourism, having ‘something for everyone’ and delivering experience-led hospitality.
Qatar Duty Free (QDF) delivered record-breaking annual sales in 2023 with turnover soaring +32% over 2022 and representing a remarkable +61% increase over pre-pandemic 2019.
The growth figures just outstripped the equally impressive +31% year-on-year rise in passenger traffic at Hamad International Airport (HIA) to 45.9 million. Those numbers in turn surpassed even the momentum established during the historic FIFA World Cup in 2022.
2023 was a year of world-first openings, new exclusive concepts and high-profile campaigns. Highlights included the opening of the world’s first Louis Vuitton Lounge by Yannick Alléno and the ground-breaking Souq Al Matar Sense of Place concept, among many others.
QDF strengthened its long-held commitment to offer products and services that appeal to a broad base of travellers, whatever their background or spending power.
Qatar Duty Free Senior Vice President Thabet Musleh reflects on the achievements to date and says the retailer will continue to differentiate the offer and drive sales growth.
He says: “QDF’s position as a leading retailer in the industry is built on innovation. We challenge ourselves to explore new ideas and concepts, constantly thinking about how best we can enhance the airport environment and customer experience. The pillars that we have established as the foundation for this are: pioneering transit tourism, having ‘something for everyone’ and delivering experienceled hospitality.”
Beyond ‘Sense of Place’
‘Transit tourism’ is a concept that QDF claims to have pioneered in travel retail, centred around making the airport an integral and enriching part of the travel experience.
Musleh says: “We have transformed a lucrative transit route into a destination in itself; a space where passengers can experience relaxation, recreation and refreshment, where they can gain a taste of local culture through innovative concepts, without ever leaving the airport.
“Transit tourism has a powerful dual purpose for the airport, generating revenue while both leveraging and enhancing the tourism appeal around the region. This strategy is a key differentiator in establishing Doha as the transit hub of choice in the Middle East.”
He singles out the recent development of Souq Al Matar, a first-of-its-kind transit tourism concept at Hamad International that QDF says has taken the term ‘Sense of Place’ to the next level.
It houses seven local shops and two restaurants, adding traditional Qatari heritage and culture to the airport in a new way. The authentic designs, created by architect Ibrahim M. Jaidah, transport travellers to a local marketplace, with a nod to the styles, scents and flavours of Qatar.
“Souq Al Matar sets a precedent for what transit tourism should look, feel and taste like,” says Musleh.
The concept also builds on QDF’s drive to ensure the airport is seen as a destination in its own right. This strategy came to life in one of the biggest HIA innovations of recent years: The Orchard, which opened in 2022.
Designed to be a calming and stress-free oasis in the heart of the airport, the space contains a 575sq m water feature, 25,000 plants and over 300 trees sourced from sustainable forests worldwide. It is also surrounded by retail and F&B outlets – including many world-firsts – offering recreation and relaxation options for transiting passengers and going beyond the typical offering of an airport.
Daringly diverse
Qatar Airways and QDF have long stressed the importance of catering to all traveller needs at the airport, regardless of budget, preferences and tastes.
The ‘something for everyone’ strategy ensures the offer ranges from luxury to local, budget-friendly to high-end and world-first to popular favourites.
Musleh says: “Within F&B, we have food courts, food halls, novelty coffee shops like Ralph’s Coffee, vegan restaurants, world-renowned celebrity chef eateries like Gordon Ramsay Burger, the world’s first Oreo Café in an airport. And within retail, it’s just as expansive.
“Our essentials store Day2Day caters to budget friendly shoppers while luxury lovers can visit the first TimeVallée in the Middle East, or the statement two-storey Fendi Boutique. We want to deliver ‘something for everyone’, but regardless of whether that’s a cup of coffee or a luxury handbag, we ensure that it is best-in-class.”
Experience-led hospitality
QDF says that it is “in the business of experiences”, driven by a detailed understanding of traveller needs and expectations.
The ‘experience-led hospitality’ strategy at HIA is built on three crucial pillars: delivering a seamless journey, going beyond retail and meeting the customer at the right moment.
Musleh says: “At QDF, we don’t believe in doing things small, and that applies to delivering experience-led hospitality. A great example of this is our collaboration last year with MAC Cosmetics to celebrate National Lipstick Day.
“The campaign transcended products and services by inviting passengers into a world of engagement and interaction. With a live DJ, various touchpoints, photo opportunities and a chance to get your perfect lipstick match, the campaign delivered a dynamic shopping moment that went above and beyond traditional retail.
“The positioning of the campaign ensured that we met the customer at the right place and time, leveraging the increasingly popular National Lipstick Day.
“Another great example is our Venchi World Chocolate Day campaign, executed through a full branded digital takeover across HIA. This created an immersive experience for passengers, with strong sales results underlining the success of meeting the customer at the right moment with the right offering to drive engagement and sales. In three days, sales value increased by +633% week on week. The Venchi store in the Central Concourse saw a +100% increase in sales.”
Looking ahead
The pillars on which QDF has built its recent growth will drive its vision for the future. Innovation will remain a vital platform – later this year it will open the first Dior spa at an airport, which it says it is shaping as a “next-level experience in travel retail”.
Musleh concludes: “2023 was a fantastic year for QDF but we’re not resting on our laurels. We’re already working hard to make 2024 even better. We want to avoid samey, over-familiar retail. If we offer memorable world-first experiences then we are going to stimulate engagement and spend.
“The concept is simple, but the execution isn’t. It takes a lot of effort, ambition and creativity, but that’s the price of striving to be best-in-class. Driven by our key principles, we will continue to pioneer transit tourism, sharpen our focus on offering ‘something for everyone’ and deliver memorable experience-led hospitality.” ✈
*This article first appeared in The Moodie Davitt Magazine. Click here for access and turn to page 75.
