Dubai: Dubai Duty Free sales grew an impressive 28 per cent in the first quarter to Dh730 million ($203 million), driven by increased demand for perfume, its top-selling category.

Colm McLoughlin, managing director, said March was the airport retailer's second highest busiest month in its 24-year history, with sales of Dh258 million.

"Traffic through the airport is going up, and sales per person are going up, which has been the case for more than 20 years," he told Gulf News. "Generally around the world 16 or 17 per cent of departing passengers purchase from duty free stores, and in our case it's more than 42 per cent of departing passengers."

Dramatic changes

Transit passengers snapped up 530,000 bottles of perfume in the first few months of 2007, worth Dh100 million or 14 per cent of total revenue.

Gold retained its vaunted position with sales growing to Dh80 million ($22 million) in the first quarter, a 38 per cent increase over the same period last year. Alcohol and tobacco rounded out the top three sales groups.

Book sales jumped 37 per cent, cosmetics were up 36 per cent, while cameras and accessories saw a 22 per cent increase in sales.

Dubai Duty Free is the exclusive retailer at Dubai International Airport, and is set to double its retail space to 16,000 square metres when Concourse 2 and Terminal 3 open later this year.

McLoughlin also said there will be dramatic changes in 2008 once the new Dubai World Central airport is unveiled, whose retail space will be managed by Dubai Duty Free.

"When the first stage of the airport opens which is probably mid-next year, we have scheduled to put 4,000 square metres of retail space there which will be the start. As the airport builds up, of course we will do more, and if we look forward to ten years time there might be 25,000 square metres."