Dubai Duty Free (DDF) is the company responsible for duty-free selling operations at Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport.[1]
Founded in December 1983, DDF recorded first-year sales of US$20 million. In 2023, its 40th anniversary year, sales turnover reached US $2.16 billion, eclipsing pre-pandemic revenues. Its top five markets are India, Russia, China, and the UK. The company employs 5,500 staff and makes 55,000 daily transactions.[2]
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum is the president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman of Dubai Duty Free. Colm McLoughlin is the executive vice-chairman and CEO.[3] DDF is a subsidiary of the government-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai.[4]
Foundation
editAer Rianta, which since 1969 operated duty-free shopping at Shannon Airport, which had become the first duty-free airport in 1947, was invited to present a proposal for the operations and management of a duty-free selling operation at Dubai International Airport. Prior to this, the airport had been served by various retail concessions managed by traders from Dubai. The plan was presented to Sheikh Mohammed by Mohi-Din Binhendi, the director-general of Dubai Civil Aviation, and was approved on the condition that the duty-free shopping area be expanded to twice its original size and opened within six months.[5]
The duty-free shopping area, planned to serve three million passengers a year, was funded with an $820,000 loan from the National Bank of Dubai. A challenge faced by the ten-man Aer Rianta management team, which had signed a consultancy contract with Dubai Civil Aviation, was to negotiate the transfer of the existing concessions, resulting in Dubai Duty Free acquiring their stocks at rates preferred by the shop owners.[6]
DDF officially opened on 20 December 1983. At the end of the Aer Rianta consultancy contract, McLoughlin decided to stay and manage the new operation and two of the original Aer Rianta team stayed with him.[6] In 1985, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum became chairman of Emirates Airlines and the Department of Civil Aviation.[6]
Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum is regarded as the driving force behind the Dubai Duty Free,[7] approving the project to double its size[7] and endorsing major concepts.[7]
Operations
editIn 1987, the arrivals duty-free shop opened to the public and was earning around $200,000 a day. In 1989, the Dubai Duty Free introduced its 'Finest Surprise' promotion, a 1,000 ticket raffle to win a luxury car. The promotion has run continuously since then.[5]
The opening of the Sheikh Rashid terminal at Dubai International Airport in 2000 saw the staff count at the various Dubai Duty Free locations throughout the airport rise to 900, which came with a 5,400 M2 expansion of floor space. The turnover in 2001 rose to $222 million and in 2003, 20 years after it was established, finished off with a turnover of $380 million.[6]
Dubai Duty Free has seen significant growth and development in the past years and was named the single largest airport retailer in the world in terms of revenue, based on the years 2008–10[8] and 2013.[9]
The Dubai Duty Free employs over 6,100 staff of 47 nationalities, including 25 of its original 100 staff recruited in 1983.[10] By 2025, it expects business to be in excess of US$3 billion a year, employing between 9,000 and 10,000 people.[11][12]
The company has been named the world's largest airport retailer.[13] By 2008, it was making per day what it had made in its entire first year. Its 2018 revenue exceeded US$$2 billion.[14][15][16]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The DDF Story". www.dubaidutyfree.com. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ Cabral, Alvin R. "Dubai Duty Free sales soar to record $2.16bn in 2023 as travel continues to grow". The National. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "DDF People". www.dubaidutyfree.com. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ "Dubai Duty Free". Investment Corporation of Dubai. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ a b Wilson, Graeme (2008). Fly Buy Dubai. UAE: Media Prima. p. 218. ISBN 9789948886337.
- ^ a b c d Wilson, Graeme (2008). Fly Buy Dubai. UAE: Media Prima. p. 511. ISBN 9789948886337.
- ^ a b c Dobson, Alan (21 April 2017), "Chapter 6: Open-skies and a fully globalized world market", A History of International Civil Aviation From its Origins through Transformative Evolution (1st ed.), Routledge, pp. 95–115, doi:10.4324/9781315180601-6, ISBN 9781315180601
- ^ "Global DF&TR Sales 2011 year of data Generation" (PDF). vsnews.fr. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ "Dubai Duty Free Regains Travel Retail Top Spot". frontiermagazine.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
- ^ "Dubai Duty Free Jobs". Dubai Overseas Filipino Workers. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014.
- ^ "Colm McLoughlin | Faces of Dubai". Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ "Dubai Duty Free Jobs". Dubai Overseas all Workers around the world. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021.
- ^ Sophia, Mary (16 October 2014). "Dubai Duty Free Named World's Largest Airport Retailer". Gulf Business. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Stellar sales: Dubai Duty Free revenues hit new high of US$2.015 billion in 2018". The Moodie Davitt Report. 2 January 2019. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Dubai Duty Free Named World's Largest Airport Retailer". Arabian Business.
- ^ "Dubai Duty Free sets record high as annual sales surge to US$2.029 billion". The Moodie Davitt Report. 2 January 2020. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2021.