Dubai Duty Free Named ’Best Airport Retailer Of The Year’ At Frontier Awards
Dubai Duty Free scooped the top prize at the Frontier Awards held in the Hotel Martinez in Cannes, where they were announced as the ‘Best Airport Retailer of the Year’ for an unprecedented sixth time. Hailed as the ‘Oscars of the industry’, the Frontier Awards are held to coincide with the annual Tax Free World Association (TFWA) exhibition in Cannes, with this year’s awards ceremony attracting over 500 guests from the global duty free industry.
Launched in 1985, the Frontier Awards recognize excellence in the industry with trophies going to winners in 11 different categories following a review of submissions by a panel of international judges.
Commenting on Dubai Duty Free’s success on the awards night, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Duty Free said: “I would like to extend my congratulations to the management and staff at Dubai Duty Free for winning the Frontier ‘Best Airport Retailer of the Year’ award. This award sets the perfect tone for next year when the operation will expand further with the opening of Concourse A.”
Present in Cannes to collect the awards on behalf of Dubai Duty Free, a delighted Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman said: “This is the sixth time that Dubai Duty Free has won the ‘Best Airport Retailer Award’ since the awards began and given the competitive nature of these awards, it really is a great honour to be voted as the best. I join H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum in thanking our growing team of staff, who do a great job in keeping the operation running around the clock.”
Dubai Duty Free’s continuing sales growth, which is expected to reach US$1.6 billion this year, its ongoing expansion and its brand partnerships with key suppliers, were some of the key points noted by the judges before awarding the ‘Best Airport Retailer of the Year’ to the operation.
“Dubai Duty Free’s repeated success at the Frontier Awards – which remain the industry’s foremost celebration of excellence in travel-retailing – highlights the extent to which it continues to innovate and renew itself as a business,” said David Davies, Editor of Frontier magazine. “Nearly 30 years after it was established, DDF is still wowing our judges with its achievements, so congratulations to Colm McLoughlin and the team!”
Dubai Duty Free won its first ‘Best Airport Retailer of the Year’ award in 1985 – at the first Frontier Awards ceremony- and again in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2007. The operation has also won in other categories over the years including ‘Best Marketing Campaign’ in 1986, 1990 and 2009. In 1986, Colm McLoughlin was presented with the ‘Duty Free Person of the Year’ award and in 2004 a special ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ was presented in recognition of his significant role within the duty free industry.
Emirate: Dubai
Date: Nov 6, 2012
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