Dubai Duty Free

Dubai Duty Free, which celebrated its 25th Anniversary on 20th December 2008, has had a remarkable quarter century that has seen its business grow from Dhs70 million (US$20 million) in 1984 to Dhs3.9 billion (US$1.1 billion) in 2008.


The milestone anniversary was celebrated in a number of ways, including the publication of the book ‘Fly Buy Dubai’ which provides a fascinating insight into the origins of the duty free industry. The anniversary day on 20th December was a very special day as the operation achieved over Dhs70 million (US$20 million) in sales during the 24-hour period, which equals the annual sales of its first full year of business.

Dubai Duty Free announced annual sales of Dhs3.95 billion (US$1.1 billion) in 2008, representing a 23 per cent increase on the previous year.
December itself was a record month with sales reaching a new monthly high of Dhs403 million (US$111 million), while on 17th December, the milestone figure of US$1 billion (Dhs3.6 billion) was crossed.
The year saw the operation doubling its retail space from 7,000 square metres to 15,000 square metres with the inauguration of the new Emirates Terminal 3 in October 2008. The opening of Dubai Duty Free’s Head Office and Distribution Centre and the increase in the operation’s staffing levels to 3,700 were also major milestones for Dubai Duty Free in 2008.

To date, Dubai Duty Free has received more than 150 awards from industry, media and government bodies; a testimony to the operation’s mammoth success.
A five time winner of the much-coveted Frontier Award for ‘Airport Retailer of the Year’, the last of which was presented in Cannes in October 2007, the operation went on to claim more prestigious trophies in 2008. Awards in the past year included the Global Traveller Award for 'Best Duty Free Shops' won in 2008 and 2009, the Business Traveller UK and the Business Traveller Middle East award for 'Best Duty Free Shopping', along with the Raven Fox Award for 'Middle East Travel Retailer of the Year'.

While the successful running of the shopfloor operation is a major focus for Dubai Duty Free, the operation is highly committed to promoting Dubai through a series of high level sporting events such as the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. Attracting 10 out of the top 10 women and 7 of the top 10 men’s players in the world will be in action from 15 – 28 February.

This extraordinary line-up will include both men’s and women’s defending champions, Andy Roddick and Elena Dementieva, as well as crowd favourites Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and the ever-popular Ana Ivanovic.

This event complements the operation's annual sports calendar that includes horse racing both at home and overseas.