UAE. Whyte & Mackay has partnered with Dubai Duty Free (DDF) for a series of prominent activation spaces at Dubai International Airport (DXB), strengthening its presence in the single malt category within global travel retail.
Throughout June, the company showcased its portfolio of single malts, including The Dalmore, Jura, Fettercairn and Tamnavulin, across various locations in terminals 1 and 3 Departures, as well as T3 Arrivals. The activation spaces highlighting Fettercairn and Jura will continue throughout July.
This collaboration with DDF underlines Whyte & Mackay’s commitment to driving growth for the single malt category, particularly focusing on the Middle East, which it considers a crucial region for the channel.
Watch the YouTube video above for highlights of Whyte & Mackay’s single malts summer campaign at Dubai Duty Free
According to IWSR, Scotch whisky remains the largest spirits category in global travel retail, consistently outperforming the general spirits categories and surpassing pre-COVID forecasts, especially in regions such as Dubai and India.
Notably, Whyte & Mackay has driven growth every year since 2019 across global markets with its portfolio of single malts (IWSR).
The single malt whiskies presented in this summer’s DDF activations included The Dalmore Luminary No.2 Collectible and a range of travel retail exclusives. These included a new aged range of Fettercairn expressions, the limited-edition and collectible Jura Islanders’ Expressions No.3 and Tamnavulin Sauvignon Blanc Edition.
The animations supported the regional roll-out of these collections, each targeting specific shopper demographics and missions.
Whyte & Mackay created eye-catching displays for each launch, designed to increase footfall and conversion in-store.
The installations featured vibrant merchandising units, bottle displays, tastings and extensive signage to encourage product discovery and customer engagement.
Additionally, the launch of The Dalmore Luminary was supported by an OOH media campaign which ran across JC Decaux screens in the airport’s VIP lounge spaces, further boosting awareness, footfall and conversions.
The activations helped Whyte & Mackay achieve a significant sales increase in DDF throughout June, with its single malts growing by +37% in value compared to June 2023. This growth was driven by Tamnavulin (+277%), Fettercairn (+218%) and The Dalmore (+28%).
“We are absolutely delighted with our Dubai Duty Free partnership, which has resulted in our single malt brand activations attracting more passengers to their stores and driving headline growth,” commented Whyte & Mackay Regional Director GTR Clarisse Daniels.
“As single malt specialists, we have carefully curated a series of impactful activations that clearly express the character, ethos and positioning of our different whiskies with compelling propositions that appeal to both existing and new customers.
“Our portfolio outperforms the single malt category in the premium, super-premium and ultra-premium price segments, driven by Tamnavulin, Jura and Fettercairn respectively. I’m confident these new travel retail-exclusive launches will continue to increase penetration, conversion and spend, fuelling long-term growth both for us and our retail partners.” ✈
