Dubai Duty Free today (July 2) announced record half-year sales performance posting a 5.34% year-on-year increase with turnover reaching AED4.1 billion ($1.1 billion) for the first six months, exceeding last year’s previous record turnover for H1 by AED208.9 million ($ 57.24 million).

 

The airport retailer recorded robust growth in April, May and the first half of June, with sales buoyed by a surge in travel over the Eid holiday and the early summer travel season, said DDF in a statement.

 

Perfumes, liquor, cigarettes and tobacco, gold and confectionery retained the top five category positions. Perfume sales reached AED744.24 million ($203.9 million) contributing 18% of total revenue and showing an increase of 5% over the same period last year.

 

Liquor followed with sales of AED513.37 million ($140.65 million), while cigarettes and tobacco saw a 12.24% increase year-on-year with sales of AED439.91 million ($120.52 million).

 

Gold sales amounted to AED416.90 million ($114.22 million), contributing 10.12% of total revenue and an increase of 6.14%. 

 

Confectionery in particular continued to demonstrate strong growth, achieving AED412.52 million ($113.02 million), marking an 62.7% increase over the same period last year and accounting for 10% of total revenue.

 

Dubai Duty Free Managing Director Ramesh Cidambi said: "We are very pleased with our record performance for the first half of 2025. Whilst we await the final passenger numbers for June 2025, the spend per passenger is likely to be better than last year June. This performance is a testament to our team’s hard work and the strength of Dubai as a global travel hub."

 

The company, he stated, remains optimistic for the second half of the year, with preparations underway a busy summer and traditional busy last quarter.

 

"We are looking forward to an equally busy second half of the year. Plans are very much in place for the opening of three luxury boutiques in Terminal 3 Concourse A including Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Cartier," noted Cidambi.

 

DDF said a notable increase was seen in cosmetics, which rose by 3.36% to AED201.51 million ($55.21 million) contributing 4.89% of total revenue.

 

Spending trends across terminals continued to increase with duty free sales in Terminal 3 increasing by 6.37% for the first half of the year, while Terminal 1 rose by 5.25%, said the statement.

 

All key passenger regions showed positive sales during the first half of the year, with Europe up 16.89%, the Russian region up 4.41%, the Indian-sub continent up 1.02% and the Middle East up 8.15%, it added.-TradeArabia News Service