Dubai Duty Free marked its milestone 40th anniversary

Dubai Duty Free marked its milestone 40th anniversary on 20 December as it welcomed passengers travelling through Dubai International and Al Maktoum International airports with a special 25% discount on a wide range of merchandise for 24 hours.

Sales on the milestone 40th anniversary reached Dhs54.2m (US$14.8m).

The Dubai Duty Free anniversary promotion is now a highly anticipated event with many travellers choosing to travel on the day when the 25% discount is offered. The Dubai Duty Free Anniversary offer was first introduced when the airport retailer marked its 20th Anniversary in 2003 and continues to be popular over what is traditionally a busy travel period.

40th anniversary sale, which was also extended to its Home Delivery and Click & Collect offer resulted in a spending spree at Dubai International and Al Maktoum International airports with sales 53% higher than 20 December last year.

Perfumes was the highest-selling category, with sales of Dhs12.4m (US$3.4m) during the anniversary day sale, followed by Watches with sales of Dhs7.5m (US$2.1m), while ticket sales for Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire reached a staggering Dhs6.6m (US$1.8m). Liquor took the fourth spot with sales of Dhs6.4m (US$1.8m), followed by Cosmetics with sales of Dhs4.3m (US$1.2m).

Online sales topped Dhs7.5m (US$2.1m) with a total of 5,815 combined orders received through Click & Collect and Home Delivery service as well as tickets for the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise promotions purchased online.

During the 24-hour anniversary sales, the cash registers recorded a total of 79,812 sales transactions while the Dubai Duty Free’s Distribution Centre issued 800 pallets of merchandise and the total number of picks in the warehouse was 8,041 for 265,799 units of merchandise.

The milestone anniversary also saw a series of celebrations in various locations over the past few days with the Dubai Duty Free executive team, led by Colm McLoughlin, marking the occasion in Terminal 2, Al Maktoum International Airport as well as its Head Office in Ramoul, Terminal 3 Concourse A, Hatta Border Shop and Terminal 1 Concourse D in Dubai International Airport.

To mark the anniversary day itself (20 December), the Dubai Duty Free team kicked off the celebration at The Irish Village in Garhoud with the announcement of the winner of The Dubai Duty Free Shopping List radio promotion with Dubai 92 to win AED40,000 Dubai Duty Free Gift Card. Ms. Sophia Rasundra, an Indian national based in Dubai, was the sole winner of the Dhs40,000 DDF gift card.