São Paulo – Dubai Duty Free shops registered sales of USD 2.015 billion in 2018, 4.31% more than the total in 2017, according to information released this Wednesday (2) by the company. The duty-free stores of the Dubai International Airport and the Al Maktoum International Airport, also in Dubai, surpassed the USD 2 billion mark in sales in December 29.
December 20, which marked the 35th anniversary of the free-shop in UAE, offered a 25% discount in selected products, resulting in more than 100 thousand transactions and almost USD 30 million sold in just 24 hours.
The top five categories in year sales were alcoholic beverages, perfumes, cigarettes, cosmetics and electronic devices. The perfume sales reached USD 301.6 million, representing 14.97% of the total sold. The cosmetics amounted to USD 208.88 million, and the electronic devices reached USD 163.1 million, showing 21.77% and 8.82% rises over 2017 respectively.
The clock sales grew 2.66%, reaching USD 145.63 million, or 7.23% of the annual sales. The gold amounted to USD 134.21 million, with 6.66% of the total sales, while candies registered sales of USD 130.37 million and 6.47% of the total sales.
The sales in the boarding area grew 6.12% in comparison with the last year, totalizing 1.78 billion; they represented 88.35% of the total sales in 2018. The operation registered more than 25.5 million transactions this year, having sold almost 69 million products.
For 2019, Dubai Duty Free keeps its events calendar, including the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship from February 17 to March 2, at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
