Dubai Duty Free says that the top five selling categories for 2023 were perfumes followed by liquor, gold, cigarettes and tobacco and electronics
Dubai Duty Free (DDF) says that it recorded sales of USD 2.16 billion in 2023, which represent a 24.39 pc increase over the previous year and are 6.4 pc more than the pre-pandemic period in 2019.
In a press statement, the duty-free shopping concessionaire which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, says its outlets recorded more than 20 million sales transactions throughout 2023, an average of 55,000 transactions daily. The sales involved 55.2 million units of merchandise during the course of last year.
Dubai Duty Free says that the top five selling categories for 2023 were perfumes followed by liquor, gold, cigarettes and tobacco and electronics.
With sales of USD 374 million, perfumes contributed 17 pc of total sales and retained its position as the top selling category. Sales of liquor reached USD 310 million and accounted for 14 pc of the total annual sales.
The third-best selling item was gold, which saw sales of USD 212 million and contributed 10 pc towards total revenue. Cigarettes and tobacco came in fourth place with sales amounting to USD 204 million and accounted for 9.5 pc of the total revenue while electronics came in fifth place with sales of USD 172 million and accounted for 8 pc of DDF’s total annual sales.
Sales in Departures across the operation reached USD 1.93 billion representing 90 pc of its total annual sales, while Arrivals sales amounted to USD 168 million, representing 8 pc of total annual sales. While online sales accounted for 2 pc of its overall sales tally for 2023 and reached USD 45 million.
Colm McLoughlin
In terms of top source markets for Dubai Duty Free sales, India ranked first with USD 266 million sales, taking over 12.3 pc share, followed by Russia at USD 208 million or about 9.6 pc share. China was the third largest with USD 154 million, followed by Saudi Arabia at USD 140 million, and the UK in fifth place with sales of USD 102 million.
“We are thrilled to have achieved our target sales for the year, a record month in December and a record year in 2023, which culminated with our celebrations of our milestone 40th anniversary,” says Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO.
DDF says that its total employee count now stands at 5,500. Ongoing and upcoming enhancements to its operations include major refurbishment plans in Concourse B at Dubai International (DXB), which will be completed early this year. There will also be scheduled renovations of three Arrival shops in the first quarter of 2024, with construction to continue until the second to third quarter of 2024. Concourse A, with two perfumes and cosmetics shops and the fashion area, will also be refurbished starting in the second quarter of 2024 and will be ready by early to mid-2025 with three new boutiques of major fashion brands, it says.
