HH Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum Al Maktoum and HH Sheikh Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, Colm Mcloughlin, Salah Tahlak, Sinead el Sibai and Abdul Rahman Falaknaz, with Andy Murray, winner of the DDF Tennis Championships ATP week, with runner- up Fernando Verdasco.
The success trail of Dubai Duty Free continues in a customer-focused environment offering world-class service
Published: Fri 17 Mar 2017, 4:55 PM
Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO, Dubai Duty Free (DDF) has been with the organisation since inception and is proud to lead a team that is No. 1 in the industry. "We've tremendous support from the government. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman Dubai Duty Free gives full support to the duty free business. I also think we do our marketing as well as anybody in the duty free industry and, of course, we have the greatest team of staff in the whole industry," McLoughlin says in an interview with Khaleej Times.
From the very beginning, when the original team of Aer Rianta (Irish airport authority) came to set up Dubai Duty Free, the directive was that the operation had to be world class as per the ambitions of Dubai back then. "Our core directives continue to be the same; to provide a world-class service, with quality products at good prices and all within a customer-focused environment. Of course, the operation has had to grow dramatically, especially from a staffing and logistics point of view, to meet the growing demands and to stay ahead of the retail curve," he adds.
Speaking about his secret to success, McLoughlin says, "Our duty free operation is owned by the Government of Dubai, and there is a very positive attitude among the government members here that everything in Dubai succeeds. There is an attitude that everything should be number one in the world. So everybody is on the same footing, right from the beginning.
"When we launched Dubai Duty Free back in 1983, we had 100 staff. We still have 27 of those original people working with us 33 years later who are referred to as 'Pioneers'. Within our company we have tried to build a family-oriented team. We value our staff and ensure they are fully trained for the job. I think they are the main reasons for our success."
The EVC and CEO stresses that overall it has been a good year for DDF. "We have grown our business and recorded year-end sales of $1.85 billion. We have opened 7,000 square metres of new retail space in Concourse D in February 2016, which is a welcome addition to the existing retail footprint of 26,000 square metres in Dubai International Airport," he notes.
Over the past 12 months, DDF has been recognised by several global awards, which bear testimony to DDF's retail success. To date, DDF has received more than 550 industry awards and in 2016 alone, the operation was presented with 28 awards including the DFNI Global Awards for Travel Retail Excellence for "Global Travel Retailer of the Year" and "Airport Travel Retailer of the Year", among others. DDF was also honoured at the US Global Traveller Awards "Hall of Fame" for winning the "Best Duty Free Shop" for 10 consecutive years.
Furthermore, in terms of global sponsorship programmes, DDF has continued to support major sporting events, which have generated an estimated $1 billion worth of media exposure for Dubai and the DDF brand. The addition of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open golf tournament, held in association with the Rory Foundation, was a great addition to its portfolio and in 2015, DDF has signed a further three-year agreement to continue as title sponsor. The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which is by far its biggest sporting investment, celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, and was won by Elina Svitolina and Andy Murray.
It is not only accolades. The industry is facing major challenges as well. "A big concern at the moment is currency fluctuations. We don't really know what Brexit is going to do to us, and we don't know what's going to happen with the euro. We don't want our products to become too expensive for visitors," McLoughlin explains.
Another aspect is luggage allowances of certain airlines. "This restricts our business because people are unable to buy as much as they would like to in duty free - for fear of their bags being overweight. We have to educate the customers about the new rules. And we do meet with the airlines to discuss the issue," he adds
As always, DDF's outlook for 2017 is to meet its targets for revenue and profits and continue to provide a first-class service to passengers using Dubai's Airports. "As a business, we are looking forward to improving our retail offer both at Dubai International Airport and in Al Maktoum International Airport's Passenger Terminal Building (PTB). In Concourse C, we have just opened a retail offer in the Control Tower area that links Concourse C to Concourse B, and we will fully renovate the retail areas in the departures and apron levels of Concourse C over the course of 2017. In the AMIA PTB, we are expanding the retail offer alongside the expansion of the facility to be ready for the beginning of 2018," he says.
- suchitra@khaleejtimes.com
DDF senior executives and dignitaries presenting trophies to the winners of the DDF Irish Derby held at the Curragh Racecourse in Ireland, which was won by Harzand, owned by HH the Aga Khan and trained by Dermot Weld.
The Irish Village marked its 20th anniversary last October with a ceremonial cake cutting attended by HE Patrick Hennessy, Irish ambassador to the UAE.
Dubai Duty Free senior officials Ramesh Cidambi and Salah Tahlak along with the Irish Village team at its second location in Dubai Parks and Resorts at Riverland, which opened in December 2016.
Colm Mcloughlin with Rory Mcilroy
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