Retail and leisure operator Dubai Duty Free has reported turnover of AED7bn (US$1.93bn) for 2015, with duty free sales from Dubai and Al Maktoum international airports accounting for AED6.89bn (US$1.88bn).
As in 2014, perfumes remained the highest selling category with AED1.14m (US$311m), representing 16.5% of total annual sales. Dubai Duty Free recorded its highest sales for the year in December 2015 when figures reached AED722m (US$198m).
Colm McLoughlin, executive vice chairman, Dubai Duty Free, said, “Overall, it has been a very good year and I would like to thank Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman of Dubai Duty Free, for his ongoing support and I join him in thanking our great team of staff, our suppliers and, of course, our customers, who are fundamental to our continued growth.
“There is a lot to look forward to in 2016, including the opening of Concourse D at Dubai International, which is a fantastic facility that will be very well received. We have a 7,000m² (75,350ft²) retail operation in Concourse D and will be introducing some new brands and concepts there.”
Dubai Duty Free recorded 26,848,832 sales transactions in 2015, an average of 73,558 sales transactions per day across both airports. Category wise, perfumes continued to be the highest selling category followed by liquor and cigarettes with sales of AED1.07bn (US$293m) and AED589.7m (US$162m) respectively. Confectionery came in fourth place with sales amounting to AED556m (US$152m) followed by gold with AED549m (US$150.5m).
Departure sales, which account for 87% of the annual total, reached AED5.98bn (US$1.6bn), while arrivals sales showed a 6% increase over 2014 and accounted for 11% of the total annual sales.
