Dubai Duty Free's 20th anniversary day -- December 20 -- proved to be memorable in more ways than one, with the retailer clocking up record daily sales of Dh7.1 million ($1.9 million).
The anniversary offer of providing shoppers with 20 per cent discount had the desired effect of setting sales soaring, resulting in a phenomenal 35,733 sales transactions on the day.
Commenting on the achievement, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation said:
"These really are remarkable sales figures and I congratulate Dubai Duty Free on the successes over the past twenty years and look forward to even greater success in the future."
As Dubai Duty Free's 20th anniversary plans got underway on the shopfloor on December 20, it became clear that the previous daily sales record of Dh5.9 million ($1.6 million), set just one day before on December 19, would be broken.
"To mark our 20th anniversary, Dubai Duty Free decided to provide a number of local charities with their own reason to celebrate by making a donation to charity," said managing director Colm McLoughlin.
"The end result has been a fantastic day of sales of just under $2 million and one that will go down in the record books for some time to come."
In a day that witnessed much sales activity on the shopfloor, Dubai Duty Free took the opportunity of the 20th anniversary to acknowledge its long serving staff.
Of the original 100 staff who were with the operation when it opened for business in December 1983, 64 staff still remain and are referred to as the 'pioneers'.
On the anniversary day, each pioneer received a personal tribute from Colm McLoughlin and Dubai Duty Free general manager George Horan.