UAE. Bill Kemmery, part of the investment team behind innovative Australian duty-free and travel retail digital shopping platform SkyBuys (where son Alec is Founder & CEO) , is the winner of our latest Strange Predictions* contest hosted by Strange Nature Gin of New Zealand.
We asked readers to estimate Dubai Duty Free’s sales (in UAE Dirhams) on 20 December, the travel retailer’s 41st anniversary.
Since launching its operations on that day way back in 1983 Dubai Duty Free has grown to become the world’s number one single airport duty-free location (at Dubai International/DXB).
Once again, Dubai Duty Free celebrated the occasion with its highly anticipated 24-hour anniversary promotion, offering a -25% discount on a wide range of products.
As reported, sales in the 24-hour period reached AED59.99 million (US$16.4 million) up by +11% year-on-year for the landmark day.
Not surprisingly given Dubai Duty Free’s importance to the travel retail channel, we had plenty of entries. And perhaps equally non-surprisingly within a context of widespread softness across the sector in 2024, most of our pundits underestimated the end result.
Bill did not, predicting sales of AED60,839,555, comfortably ahead of his best-performing rivals, Saudia Arabia-based sector veteran John Reynolds; King Salman International Airport Vice President, Investment & Partnerships Mammen Tharakan; ARI Global Buying Manager Shane O’Sullivan; The Estée Lauder Companies, Area Sales and Operations Manager – Travel Retail Middle East & India Kunal Dhawan; Wonderful Pistachios Director of Sales, Oceania, SE Asia, CaSA & Global Travel Retail James Kfouri; and Swedish Smokeless Solutions Global Travel Retail Business Development Operations Manager Rasmus Olsson, who all demonstrated notable sales projections skills.
The rest of our field, to a man and woman (and most notably those in the under pressure cosmetics sector), understated the end result by a significant margin. As always then, Dubai Duty Free, came up with the goods.
Thanks to all for entering. Bill receives a bottle of the outstanding Strange Nature Gin, whose spirit base is drawn from Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. A Strange but wonderful Christmas present.
Strange Nature and Strange PredictionsStrange Nature, the quirky super-premium New Zealand gin, has gained impressive traction in travel retail and selected local markets since its launch in October 2021, is partnering with The Moodie Davitt Report in a pioneering readers’ competition called Strange Predictions. The year-round programme features a series of predictive contests designed to test readers’ punditry skills across a myriad of events, ranging from sporting contests to political elections and other intriguing – and sometimes strange – events. Strange Nature General Manager – Owner Rhys Julian said: “At Strange Nature we like to embrace the strange. We consider our gin to be stranger than most, considering its grape origins, one botanical as well as sustainability and traceability credentials. “Therefore, in fitting with the brand we thought partnering with The Moodie Davitt Report’s Strange Predictions was a perfect fit. A fun competition for everyone, slightly left of centre, is very much our vibe.” |
