Dubai Duty Free sales up 10% to Dh1.75bn in the first quarter

Sales at Dubai Duty Free grew 10 per cent in the first quarter to Dh1.75 billion as more passengers bought perfumes and cosmetics.

The airport retailer aims to earn Dh7bn this year, said Colm McLoughlin, the executive vice chairman of Dubai Duty Free.

Terminal 2, which focuses on low-cost and predominantly regional air traffic, had the best performance as sales grew 23 per cent after its recent expansion and upgrade last year.

“The expansion provided us with an opportunity to extend our product range and boost sales in Terminal 2, which accounts for 8.3 per cent of our total revenue and is growing. The last phase of that development will be opening of a new arrivals shop, which will help grow sales further,” Mr McLoughlin said.

Terminal 3, which is dedicated to Emirates Airline, continues to generate the bulk of revenues for Dubai Duty Free. The retailer is preparing for the opening next year of Concourse D, an addition to Terminal 3 that is part of the airport's US$7.8bn expansion plan.

Perfume sales stood at Dh286.4 million in the period ended March 30, a growth of 16 per cent over the corresponding period last year.

Travellers also bought Dh141.3m worth of cosmetics, boosting sales by 30 per cent, and Dh25m worth of handbags and leather goods, boosting sales by 62 per cent.

In 2011, Dubai Airports announced its ambitious expansion plan for Dubai International as it aims to boost its capacity from 60 million passengers a year to 90 million by 2018.

Dubai Duty Free’s parent company is the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), which is the investment arm of the Dubai Government. Dubai Airports is also within ICD.

It owns some of Dubai’s prime corporate assets, including Emirates Group, Emirates NBD, Dubai Islamic Bank and Emaar Properties.

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