Dubai Duty-Free seeks retail partners for new airport at DWC

Dubai: Dubai Duty-Free (DDF) – the company responsible for duty-free selling operations at Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) – announced Thursday it is looking to ‘explore opportunities for strategic partnerships to drive the next phase of growth’.

“As part of DDF's commitment to continually enhance the shopping experience for all passengers who travel through DXB and DWC airports, DDF is looking to explore opportunities for strategic partnerships to drive the next growth phase,” it said.

Ramesh Cidambi, Managing Director of DDF, said the announcement comes at a time in view of the development of the new Al Maktoum International Airport (AMIA). He said, “Today's announcement is a great opportunity for the business given the rapid growth in passenger numbers at DXB and the expected increase in the coming years as we prepare to move to AMIA.”

He added, “By exploring potential business partners to work with Dubai Duty-Free, we aim to offer customers an even greater shopping experience, with more exclusive brands and promotions, whilst also ensuring that customers can experience the latest retail technology and innovation.”

DDF has yet to disclose the specifics of the partnerships it is currently pursuing. However, DDF announced a new collaboration with TerraPay last week to enhance the shopping experience for over 100 million customers. This partnership will allow travellers to make purchases at Dubai Duty-Free using their home-country wallets.

TerraPay is a global money movement company that offers access to one of the world’s largest cross-border payment networks, operating in over 30 regulated markets worldwide. It supports payments to more than 150 receiving countries, 210 sending countries, 3.7 billion mobile wallets, 7.5 billion bank accounts, and over 12 billion cards. TerraPay ensures that money transfers are instant, transparent, and fully compliant with regulations. Dubai Duty-Free announced a new annual sales record of Dh7.901 billion for 2024.

In 2024, the operation recorded over 20.733 million sales transactions throughout the year, an average of 56,649 sales transactions per day, while a staggering 55.137 million units of merchandise were sold. It is also estimated that over 13.7 million customers shopped in DDF's Arrivals and Departures stores in 2024.

According to the Moodie Davitt Report, Dubai Duty-Free reported sales of $1.94 billion during the first 11 months of 2024, with the company on track to surpass $2 billion in sales for the year. This follows a total of $2.16 billion in sales for 2023.