DUBAI — The New Year began on a high note for Dubai Duty Free with the airport retailer announcing double digit sales growth for 2010 with turnover reaching a record Dhs4.66 billion ($1.27 billion), representing a 14 per cent increase over 2009 figures.

Commenting on the record sales figures, Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Duty Free said, “2010 has been an excellent year for Dubai Duty Free which has retained its position as the largest single airport retailer in the world. The sales over the past 12 months are a positive indicator for the retail sector as a whole and I congratulate Dubai Duty Free’s management and staff on their success.”

December saw a new monthly sales record with turnover reaching Dhs497 million ($136 million), which is 13 per cent higher than the monthly record set in December 2009. Meanwhile on December 20th, when Dubai Duty Free celebrated its 27th anniversary, sales reached an impressive Dhs66.7 million ($18.5 million).

Reflecting on another memorable year at Dubai Duty Free, Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director said, “We are thrilled to have posted such a positive year in 2010. Our sales have been consistently buoyant throughout the year and we are pleased to see that our penetration level continues to be high and that we sell to around 45 per cent of all passengers, while the average spend per departing customer is around $46. With 20.5 million sales transactions recorded at Dubai Duty Free last year, an increase of 11 per cent over 2009, the statistics continue to make interesting reading.

Once again, the No.1 selling category for 2010 was perfumes, which notched up sales of Dhs658 million ($180.3 million), a 16 per cent increase over 2009. Liquor and gold retained the No. 2 and No. 3 positions with increases of 13 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively. Other big category increases were seen in Watches, which rose by 26 per cent and cosmetics, which were up by 23 per cent, while sales of cameras rose by 19 per cent.

Increases were seen across all Dubai Duty Free retail areas, with Terminal 3 sales increasing by 20 per cent overall, including an 11 per cent increase in T3 arrivals sales. Terminal 2 sales rose by an impressive 24 per cent, where a revamp of the retail operation in T2 is planned for 2011.

Looking ahead to further development plans for Dubai Duty Free, 2011 will see the opening of the retail operation in Al Maktoum International Airport’s Passenger Terminal while plans continue for the opening of the retail operation in Concourse 3 at Dubai International Airport, which is scheduled to open in 2012.