Colm Mcloughlin has played a vital role in the Dubai success story. He was an integral part of the Aer Rianta team, based at Shannon Airport on the West coast of Ireland, who had earned a global reputation as the most successful Airport Duty Free operation worldwide. In 1983 Colm and his colleagues were invited to set up a duty free facility at Dubai Airport on a six-month contract. “I was impressed with the attitude of the people we were introduced to in Dubai and the fact that they were committed to making Dubai Duty Free the best in the world, so I resigned from Aer Rianta and took up a two-year contract with Dubai Duty Free,” says Colm. “I’ve been here on the same two-year contract ever since, 34 years later.” The Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, who last month was presented with the prestigious Frontier Airport Retailer of the Year Award, tells Mike Gallemore how DDF has reached the pinnacle of the worldwide airport duty free industry. He also talks about the relationship between Dubai and Rory McIlroy that has taken the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation to one of the most popular and successful events on the European Tour International Schedule.
WG: With so much global uncertainty it was a remarkable achievement for DDF to receive the Frontier Airport Retailer of the Year Award. How did that feel?
Colm McLoughlin: The number of passengers travelling through Dubai International Airport increased 6.6% to 8.23 million, compared to the same month a year ago and are expected to reach close to 90 million this year, which is great news for Dubai Duty Free, obviously. We were delighted to receive the Frontier Award for Airport Retailer of the Year. It’s the eighth time we have won this award, which is an enormous achievement for our operation. The fact that the judges acknowledged our continuing sales growth and expansion of our retail offer and brand partnerships with key suppliers, was particularly rewarding for us to hear.
WG: You were presented with the 1986 Duty Free Person of the Year Award, and in 2004 you received a special ‘Lifetime Achievement Award.’ What has been the secret of your success for DDF?
CM: These awards are regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the travel retail industry and the judges are our peers, so it’s very nice to be recognised by the industry. When I receive any personal recognition, I am mindful of the fact that both my Chairman, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, and our 6,000 staff are to thank for any recognition that I may receive.
WG: In a difficult trading year how do the DDF figures compare for 2017?
CM: We are having a good year. Our sales are up almost 3% on last year, which is a positive. We implemented a number of procedures in the past year, including negotiating prices with our suppliers as we wanted to retain our competitive pricing policy, which has been successful. We have also partnered with a number of entities, including joining Emirates Skywards on a miles redemption programme that has been very well received. We have also run a year-long campaign with C-Trip, which is the largest travel operator in the world with more than 300 million members, so that we can reach the important Chinese travelers when they are planning their trip to or through Dubai. All these initiatives have helped us return to positive sales growth and that will continue in the year ahead.
WG: You have harnessed the power of international sport to promote DDF globally – how well has that worked?
CM: We began sponsoring sporting events back in the mid-1980s as part of our brief was to promote Dubai as a sports and leisure destination. We have always seen sport as a positive way to reach a wide global audience. We were champions of Snooker back then, when it was a huge sport in the UK, and we ran the Dubai Duty Free Snooker Classic for many years. We turned our attention to tennis with the inaugural Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships back in 1993 and that event has grown to world class status. The return on investment for the two-week tournament in terms of TV coverage is calculated at US$920 million, which is invaluable exposure for Dubai and for our brand. The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Golf Championship is our most recent title sponsorship and we believe that the tournament works very well and it ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to our evaluation list.
WG: You are involved in and sponsor many sporting events, large and small, around the world but how do you calculate the value of your support on a global scale?
CM: We calculate it in a number of ways, including the important media exposure which covers TV, print and now social media. We also assess our sponsorships in terms of spectator turnout, player participation and the overall fan experience, all of which reflects on our brand.
WG: You have been a keen golfer from the days when you played at Shannon Airport GC, Lahinch and Dromoland Castle on the west coast of Ireland and you still play regularly at Dubai Creek. What is it about golf that you love so much and what do you think of Dubai as a golfing destination?
CM: I enjoy all sports but I do enjoy my golf. I enjoy the friendships that I have around golf and I particularly enjoy my weekly game of golf, when we are all in Dubai, with good friends George Horan (former President of DDF), Ara Nakhnikian, and many others. Each November, we host the Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup in Dubai which brings together over 120 people from the duty free industry and it’s a great couple of days of friendly competition which everyone looks forward to. I also enjoy the social gathering around the main golf tournaments here, including the DP World Championship, the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters and the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, which we have supported through sponsorship from the very first event in 1989.
WG: It was a great occasion when Rory McIlroy won last year’s DDF Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation at the K Club – that must have given you great pleasure.
CM: Rory is a great young man. He does a great deal of work for his Rory Foundation, which we have seen at first-hand in Ireland, so it was a real thrill to see him win the tournament last year at the K Club. He has such a huge following around the world, but the Irish fans were delighted for him to win, and to seal it in such style was great to witness.
WG: By sponsoring the Irish Open since 2015, DDF has elevated the tournament to one of the most significant events on the European Tour International Schedule – has the success of the event also helped promote DDF to a worldwide audience?
CM: Our decision to sponsor the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open came at a good time, with the Rory Foundation stepping in as host. With our involvement, the prize money increased initially from 2million euros to 4million euros within a couple of years. So there was a real concerted effort from ourselves, the Rory Foundation and the European Tour to bring the tournament back to its former glory. Then, with the tournament becoming part of the Rolex Series, with prize money of US$7 million, the tournament really elevated its position as one of the key events on the European Tour calendar. We are very happy with its progression.
WG: Dubai Duty Free has a long tradition of supporting charities through its Dubai Duty Free Foundation, can you elaborate on what charities you support?
CM: We are very proud of the Dubai Duty Free Foundation, and through it we have continued with our core work of overseeing several projects and raising funds for worthy causes, specifically those aimed at benefiting women and children. One of the notable charitable initiatives we have supported was the Dhs3 million donation towards the Ramadan “Reading Nation” Campaign, launched by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, last year. The Ramadan campaign is aimed at providing five million books for children in refugee camps and students in under-privileged schools across the world. Other initiatives that we undertake, as a company, includes the annual Blood Donation Campaign, Earth Hour, Dubai Cares Walk for Education, and the annual Car Free Day. To date, the Dubai Duty Free Foundation has supported 39 local and 52 overseas charities since 2004.
Highlights of our first corporate activity in response to Dubai Fitness Challenge. Mission accomplished! #Dubai30x30 #DubaiFitnessChallenge pic.twitter.com/K6Xn3aZez0
— Dubai Duty Free (@DubaiDutyFree) November 5, 2017
WG: Your remit from H.H. Sheikh Mohammed was to make Dubai Duty Free the best duty free in the world. Having achieved that goal, how proud are you of taking the company to the top of the industry and staying there?
CM: H.H. Sheikh Mohammed did indeed ask me to ensure that Dubai Duty Free would become the best in the world, and that it is the biggest, so when we were named the No. 1 Airport duty free in the world, for many years, that was most rewarding. I am very proud of everyone who has worked so hard to make Dubai Duty Free a success. We look after our staff, they have a chance to rise through the ranks as a result of our internal promotion policy, they are well trained, our staff turnover is very low at 4.81%. I think that all of these things combined ensure that our operation is such a success.
WG: What do you think of the increasing popularity of the DP World Tour Championship, the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and the further expansion of the European Tour in the Middle East with another tournament in Oman?
CM: I think that it’s terrific that there are so many world class golf events in the UAE and the GCC and long may it continue. The standard of golf courses here in Dubai is fantastic and I have played on all of them, including the recently-opened Trump International course.
WG: Who is the most entertaining golfer you have met or maybe played with in a Pro-Am?
CM: Generally speaking, all of the golfers I have met over the years have been extremely friendly and courteous. We know the Irish golfers very well and are good friends with Paul McGinley in particular. For the Pro-Ams in Dubai, we usually request an Irish player. When it comes to the Pro-Am in Ireland, I usually ask to play with Søren Kjeldsen as he won our first Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in 2015 at Royal County Down.
WG: What is the funniest thing you have seen on a golf course?
CM: When George Horan, my former Deputy, accidentally drove his golf buggy into the lake at the Creek Golf Course a few years ago.
