Abu Dhabi Duty Free sells US$90 million in 2006

Abu Dhabi Duty Free (ADDF) ended 2006 on a high note, experiencing an average increase of 17 percent in the last three months of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005, and posting a December year-over-year increase of 30 percent. It was a good way to end a difficult year: first-trimester sales fell eight percent with the loss of Gulf Air passengers after the government of Abu Dhabi pulled out of the airline.

Fortunately Etihad Airways made up for the loss, and ADDF was able to achieve sales of over US$90 million for the year, while the Catering and Hospitality division achieved over US$54 million.

“We are very pleased with the results of 2006, which was a challenging year,” said Mohamed Mounib, ADDF managing director. “As of July, sales started to soar due to Etihad Airways launching new destinations and also due to the new airlines that started operation at Abu Dhabi and Al Ain International Airports, like Singapore Airlines, Air Finland, BEL Air, Transaero, Thompson-fly and Turkish Airlines – and also the fact that we started addressing the business in a new style whereby we introduced new products across the different business categories.”

Source: Gulf-Africa Duty Free

The Abu Dhabi duty free area was extensively decorated for the holidays with warm greens, reds and gold.
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