Dubai Duty Free achieves new annual record sales of Dh7.901 billion in 2024

The New Year began on a high note for Dubai Duty Free with the operation announcing a new annual sales record of Dh7.901 billion for 2024, with a major surge in sales happening towards the end of the year.

The month of December set a record with sales of Dh821.944 million, a two per cent increase over same month of last year. They were fuelled by Dubai Duty Free’s 41st anniversary celebrations when the operation offered a 25 per cent discount on December 20, and which resulted in a shopping spree of Dh59.993 million during the 24-hour period. This performance followed strong sales in November 2024 which was also higher than the same month last year. Confectionery was the best-performing category in December with sales up 29.46 per cent over December 2023.

Reflecting on the year at Dubai Duty Free managing director, Ramesh Cidambi, said: “We had a terrific November and December and the last week in December was particularly good with the staff really pushing hard to get beyond 2023’s record year. Despite all the major renovations and refurbishments that took place, I am very happy with the way the year has turned out.”

The operation recorded over 20.733 million sales transactions throughout the year, an average of 56,649 sales transactions per day, while a staggering 55.137 million units of merchandise were sold. It is also estimated that over 13.7 million customers shopped in DDF’s Arrivals and Departures stores in 2024.

The top five selling categories for the year were perfumes followed by beverages, cigarettes & tobacco, gold and electronics. With sales of Dh1.50 billion, perfumes contributed 19 per cent of total sales and retained its position once again as the top selling category with growth of 9.79 per cent over last year. Sales of beverages reached Dh1.056 billion and accounted for 13 per cent of the total annual sales with a decline of 6.6 per cent over last year. Meanwhile, cigarettes & tobacco recorded sales of Dh807 million and contributed 10 per cent towards total revenue with growth of 8.27 per cent over last year. Gold came in fourth place with sales amounting to Dh779 million and accounted for 10 per cent of total revenue and just higher last year. Electronics came in fifth place with sales of Dh546. million and accounted for seven per cent of total annual sales but dropped 13 per cent compared to last year.

Looking ahead, Dubai Duty Free said will continue to enhance its retail operation which includes the completion of the last phase of renovations in the arrival shops in the three terminals with construction to be finished in early 2025. This will be followed by major refurbishment in Concourse B of the luxury watches and electronics shops that will span 2025 and 2026. Also in 2025, Concourse A will see a major renovation of the perfumes and cosmetics shops on the east and west sides, renovation of the Gifts from Dubai offer and the opening of three new boutiques for major Fashion brands. Due to the extent of work in Concourse A, the renovation is expected to start in early 2025 and finish by late 2026.