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Dubai: Colm McLoughlin to be ‘remembered as much for his business success as generosity'

The Irish native, who was instrumental in establishing Dubai Duty Free from a humble beginning to a $2-billion company with 6,000 employees, passed away in the UK

Colm McLoughlin, former executive vice chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free (DDF), was known to be extremely genial, gracious and courteous to all his employees and everyone else he met during 40 years of his life in Dubai.

The Irish native, who was instrumental in establishing Dubai Duty Free from a very humble beginning to a $2-billion company with 6,000 employees, passed away in the UK on Wednesday. He was one of the longest-serving Irish nationals in the UAE.

“From the day that I met him till the day I last saw him in office in August, Colm was always absolutely genial, extremely charming, very gracious and courteous to whomever he met – employees, suppliers and anybody that he came across,” Ramesh Cidambi, managing director of Dubai Duty Free, told Khaleej Times on Thursday.

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“We have a saying that ‘retail is detail’. He had a great eye for detail, which enormously helped him in the retail business. When walking around the stores with him, he may not tell you everything. But he would notice everything. He had a fantastic memory. He was fearless and was never afraid to do new things,” Cidambi said during the interview.

Cidambi worked with late Colm McLoughlin for 37 years ever since he joined Dubai Duty Free in 1987. Prior to joining, Cidambi worked with a consultancy firm. He joined DDF to set up the IT department, which was started in November of 1987. Later he took over other responsibilities like logistics, retail development construction and then became the chief operating officer in 2016. He was promoted as managing director in June 2024 after Colm retired on May 31, 2024.

Praising the travel retail veteran, the DDF managing director said: “Colm was a man of great integrity, dedication and commitment. He was truly a person who built the business from scratch. When I joined the Dubai Duty Free, we had around 200 employees and a $50 million business. When I took over in June 2024, we had 6,000 employees and a $2 billion business.”

Cidambi stated that Colm’s style was to keep things simple. “His communication skills were excellent – both in writing and in verbal. He was very meticulous and his memory was amazing as he could recount anecdotes, and remember facts and figures, people and settings from 40-50 years ago. He always brought humour, energy and enthusiasm to the job. He was never afraid. He always had the courage of his conviction and always believed in what he was doing.”

Dubai Duty Free sponsored many mega events as well like Dubai Tennis and others.

“All the events that DDF had, like the tennis, he always made it a point to say hello to employees. He greeted everybody. He would walk through the shops at the airport at least once a week minimum.”

Ramesh Cidambi said Colm McLoughlin’s “presence will be missed by everyone in the travel retail business.

“He was genuinely a legend in the business. He was instrumental in making Dubai Duty Free, the single largest airport retailer in the world in a single location. I would say that he would be remembered as much for his business success as he would be for being a kind, courteous and generous person who touched so many lives,” he added.

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