QDF and QA in-flight duty free senior vice president Keith Hunter.

By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter


Qatar Duty Free’s (QDF) in-flight sales continue to “perform extremely well with double digit growth in all categories,” QDF and Qatar Airways (QA) in-flight duty free senior vice president Keith Hunter told Gulf Times.
Since QDF launched its 10% off on pre-orders programme on its website, Hunter said they noticed a remarkable increase in sales with many customers patronising their products.
“Our duty free in-flight continues to grow from strength to strength,” he pointed out. “We analyse what sells on a particular route and place more of that product in the Duty Free carts.”
Hunter noted that their top performing routes include London Heathrow, Bangkok, Paris, Dubai and Cairo. Product sales vary by route and destination, according to him.
QDF has a wide variety of products on board that cater to passengers from all the different locations the airline flies. These include fragrances, cosmetics, skincare, jewellery and watches to travel accessories and QA branded souvenirs.
Hunter said fragrances constitute their biggest category and represents almost one third of their total on-board sales.
QDF’s in-flight duty accepts all GCC currencies in addition to the British Pound, US Dollar, Euro and Japanese Yen. It also accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Diners Club credit cards.
Since some on-board items are not available in QDF and others are exclusive to travel retail, the QDF senior official said customers can pre order through their ‘Extravaganza’ in-flight magazine which can be browsed online.
Having the largest collection of perfumes and cosmetics of any airport in the world, Hunter noted that fragrances remained to be one of their most popular categories with passengers.
Watches, fashion and confectionary are also in demand. Its watch category is “performing very well” with sales up almost 50% on last year.
QDF’s luxury boutiques such as Chopard, Bulgari, Giorgio Armani, and Hermès, among others attract a huge number of visitors, particularly from the Far East.
QDF currently caters to 28 mn passengers passing through the Hamad International Airport annually.
“This number is set to increase significantly as the airport will be able to accommodate over 50 million passengers per year when it is fully complete,” Hunter added.
About its expansion plans, he said they will continue expanding their operations into the new areas of the airport to help achieve their financial targets for growth.
Citing the recent opening of the sixth Jamocha café in the airport in Concourse C, Hunter noted that it is now generating excellent revenue due to its strategic location (close to several busy gates). QDF is also planning to open a new restaurant in Concourse D.
“Our objective is to grow the business in line with the projected increase in passengers travelling through the airport,” he pointed out.
QDF is also continuously introducing new brands and expanding its offerings at HIA. It recently opened a Qatar Museums shop and a Samsung Experience Store – the first at an airport in the Middle East.
Since its opening last year, Hunter said hiring and training of staff to manage all the outlets had been their biggest challenge. They expect this to continue since new stores open from time to time.
“Providing quality service to passengers is our top priority, therefore we take this challenge very seriously and have a whole training team on the ground to ensure that all our staff members are well prepared and educated about the products they are selling,” he stressed.