SAUDI ARABIA. Saudi Duty Free has opened a new store at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, according to Arab News.
A partnership between World Duty Free Group (WDFG) and Al Musbah Group, the new store is reported to be the first duty free airport shop in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
King Fahd International Airport Director Yusef Al-Dahri, who officiated the opening ceremony on 8 January, said the new store “will add great value to services for arriving, departing and transiting passengers”, adding that it differs from the local market in terms of product offering and price.
New projects are underway at King Fahd International Airport to “meet the expectations of passengers”, Al-Dahri added.
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The news of the opening at King Fahd International Airport, as reported by Arab News |
With the new opening, WDFG now has duty free operations in three international airports in Saudi Arabia – King Khaled in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz in Jeddah and King Fahd in Dammam. The travel retailer was awarded five ten-year contracts to establish and operate the first duty free shops in the Kingdom in 2007, with the first stores in Jeddah opened in 2013, followed by two stores in Riyadh last year.
Al-Dahri noted that it took time to open the store because “its procedures are different from those in the local market” and duty free pricing “calls for monitoring of international duty free procedures”.
WDFG Head of International Operations Middle East & Asia Ignacio Salcedo told Arab News that prices at the new store will be -20% lower than in the local market.
The new Dammam store covers an area of 1,000sq m, according to Al Musbah Group Executive Director Irshad A Cader. “The total duty free area at the three airports in the Kingdom is 6,500sq m. We hope the passengers will enjoy the airport shopping facilities and benefit from low prices,” he said.
