Dubai Duty Free (DDF) has said that it accrued annual sales of US$1.74 billion in 2022, a 78 per cent increase over the previous year.
It recorded over 17.3 million sales transactions throughout the year, or an average of 46,912 sales transactions per day, with 47.302 million units of merchandise sold over the course of 2022.
Perfume contributed 18 per cent of total sales at US$310.66 million and retained its position as DDF’s highest selling category. It was followed by liquor, gold, cigarettes and tobacco, and electronics.
Sales of liquor reached US$279.84 million and accounted for 16 per cent of the total annual sales.
Meanwhile, gold recorded sales of US$172.41 million and contributed 10 per cent towards total revenue.
Cigarettes and tobacco came in fourth place with sales amounting to US$154.07 million and accounted for 9 per cent of total revenue while electronics came in fifth place with sales of US$137.59 million and accounted for 8 per cent of total annual sales.
Online sales meanwhile accounted for 2.54 per cent of the overall 2022 sales and reached US$44.16 million.
Sales in Departures across DDF’s operation totalled US$1.53 billion representing 88 per cent of its total annual sales, while Arrivals sales were recorded at US$157.092 million, representing 9 per cent of its total annual sales.
DDF has also being rebuilding its employee base to match the growth of its operation by a robust rehiring and recruitment process that has seen its total employee count rising to 4,663.
“The sales growth and success of the operation are the result of many factors, a key component of which has been our commitment to developing the retail offer despite the difficult retail climate brought on by the pandemic. We kept our development plans in place and as a result, in the past year, we opened several luxury boutiques including Christian Dior in Concourse A and B, Louis Vuitton in Concourse B, and a Cartier boutique too in Concourse B. Since their opening, these outlets have provided substantial incremental growth in the high-end luxury category. They now rank among the top five luxury brands in Dubai Duty Free, with Louis Vuitton in second place, followed by Dior and Cartier in third and fourth place, respectively,” Colm McLoughlin, executive vice chairman and CEO of DDF recently told Business Traveller.
“Despite the lack of Chinese passengers still, we are seeing Russian, Saudi, Indian, British, and American passengers among the top nationalities who are spending the most on these brands.”
