theceomagazine.com | 121Dubai Duty Free
by the numbers
In 2017, DDF recorded 27.2 million
sales transactions, totalling 73
million units of merchandise.
Its leading item by revenue was
perfume, representing 16 per cent
of its business. These were the
most popular products that year:
Beer 9.7 million cans
Whiskey 3.2 million bottles
Cigars 16.6 million units
Gold 2,803 kilograms
Caviar 465 kilogramsthe airport’s retail outlets keep up with the
accompanying exponential increase in
demand. DDF has significantly expanded its
pallet automation system, moving from an
initial capacity of 8,000 pallets to its current
system, which can handle 20,000.
Other moves include the introduction of
a shuttle system for storage bins holding
perfumes and cosmetics, which performs
30 per cent of all the picking done in the
warehouse; “a step to modernise a significant
part of our business”.
The most notable, change, however, has
been the implementation of Oracle Retail.
“That is an extremely important part of our
operation,” Ramesh says. “The system looks
after merchandising, price management,
auditing, warehouse management and control
of the sales transaction. It can also look after
all the analytics and provide an insight into
how the business is doing.” Since DDF
has 120,000 items on its shop floor at any
given time, the technology is crucial for an
efficient business.
According to the COO, the software
helps DDF maximise its potential in terms of
location and the huge numbers of travellers
who pass through its retail space, as well as
customers who can potentially order items
while onboard planes at the airport. The
behind the scenes work is vital, he explains.
“If you had an attractive shop but a weak
back office, you could not manage.”
Dubai International Airport, already one
of the busiest in the world, is projected to
grow even more. This will mean even more
business for DDF, which is anticipated to
reach a US$3-billion turnover by 2022.
Ramesh says it currently caters close to
90 million passengers a year and is a 24/7
operation. He is proud to add, however, that
DDF has never stopped trading since it
opened back in December 1983. “There has
been expansion, construction, new terminals
and concourses opening,” he explains. “But
there is absolutely nothing, no geopolitical
event or anything, that has stopped our
trading. Nothing has stopped us.”
DDF COO Ramesh Cidambi.