Dubai Duty Free was named “Airport Retailer of the Year” for a record tenth time at the recently concluded Frontier Awards held on 27th October at the Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic in Cannes, France.
Held to coincide with the annual Tax Free World Association (TFWA) conference and exhibition, the Frontier Awards, which are often referred to as “the Oscars of travel retail industry”, celebrate the innovation, creativity and excellence within the travel retail industry.
Commenting on the award, Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Colm McLoughlin said, “We are thrilled to receive our record tenth Frontier Airport Retailer of the Year Award. This award will always be treasured as it is a testament of our hard work and commitment despite the challenging year. I would like to thank the organisers and the judges for their support and I join our Chairman H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum in dedicating this Frontier award to each and every member of our staff.”
Hosted by DFNI Frontier magazine, this year’s distinguished panel of judges, which comprised of seven top executives from the industry who collectively boast a wealth of experience across a wide geographical area, chose from a large number of entries from all over the world.
Dubai Duty Free’s continuing achievement both in terms of its sales as well as strengthening its position as an innovative and expanding retail operation despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, were some of the key points noted by the judges before awarding the “Airport Retailer of the Year” to the operation..
In addition, Dubai Duty Free along with other duty free and travel retailers was also presented with a special collective award for “Outstanding Contribution” to recognised frontline staff in the duty free and travel retail industry.
Dubai Duty Free won its first ‘Airport Retailer of the Year’ award in 1985 – at the first Frontier Awards ceremony- and again in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2018. The operation has also won in other categories over the years including ‘Best Marketing Campaign’ in 1986, 1990, 2009 and 2015. 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. While former Dubai Duty Free President, George Horan was also presented with the same award in 2016 following his retirement in June. after 33 years of working in the company. In 2019, Dubai Duty Free’s Emiratization Officer, Muna Hassan was named as a recipient of the “Talent of Tomorrow” Award.
