Dubai Duty Free, the company responsible for running duty-free selling operations at Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport, reported sales of AED 8.68 billion (USD 2.37 billion) in 2025, representing a 9.85% YoY growth.
The December 2025 sales were AED 922.77 million (USD 252.81 million), which is the highest monthly sales in the 42 years of the retailer and 12.27% higher than December 2024, the venture noted.
Ramesh Cidambi, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, told Mubasher, “Our 2025 performance is a testament to the focus, resilience and dedication of the team under difficult conditions combined with great support from our suppliers and brand partners.”
“They have worked together to increase customer engagement and spend and helped deliver AED 8.68 billion (USD 2.37 billion) in sales while breaking records in ten out of twelve months this year,” Cidambi added.
Dubai Duty Free’s strategy to drive penetration and conversion, as well as overall transaction value, resulted in an estimated 5% growth in sales that outpaced passenger traffic.
“Growth in 2025 was supported by steady results from its core product categories, which included perfumes, liquor, gold, tobacco, and confectionery, the top five selling categories for the year. Dubai Duty Free closed 2024 with a record turnover of AED 7.90 billion (USD 2.16 billion),” the venture noted.
Perfumes remained the leading category, generating Dhs1.601 billion (USD 438.668 million) and accounting for 18.45% of total sales. Gold also saw a good surge, recording Dhs896.456 million (USD 245.604 million) in sales, contributing 10.33% of total revenue in the process. Confectionery ranked fifth with sales of Dhs845.486 million (USD 231.640 million), accounting for 9.74% of total annual sales. This performance was driven by strong demand for “Dubai chocolate,” with 719 tonnes sold across 13 brands, including two Dubai Duty Free exclusives: Patchi Pistachio Kunafa Bar and Habibe Chocolate.
Online sales, on the other hand, reached Dhs230.061 million (USD 63.030 million), accounting for 2.65% of total sales.
“The operation recorded more than 21 million sales transactions during the year, an average of 58,212 transactions per day, with a total of 56.796 million units of merchandise sold. Departures sales totalled Dhs7.864 billion (USD 2.155 billion), accounting for 90.60% of annual sales, while arrivals sales reached Dhs550.859 million (USD 150.920 million), representing 6.35% of total sales,” Dubai Duty Free concluded.