Resilience and Reinvention: Navigating Global Disruption in Travel Retail
Colm McLoughlin
Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Dubai Duty Free
The ABLF Talks | The ABLF City | May 18, 2021
Speaker Introduction
Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, is a pioneer in global travel retail whose leadership has spanned more than five decades. Beginning his career at Woolworths in Ireland before joining Shannon Duty Free in 1969, he moved to Dubai in 1983 to help establish Dubai Duty Free. Under his stewardship, the organisation has grown into the world’s largest single-airport retailer by revenue, recognised for operational excellence, innovation, and a people-first culture. Throughout his career, Mr McLoughlin has navigated cycles of global change with humility, integrity, and a clear long-term vision.
Moderator: Eithne Treanor, Founder and CEO, E Treanor Media
Prepared by: The ABLF Research Council
Date: May 18, 2021
Event: The ABLF Talks, hosted virtually at the ABLF City
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Executive Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic brought global aviation to an abrupt standstill, severely impacting the travel retail industry. Passenger traffic at Dubai Duty Free fell from 89 million in 2019 to 22 million in 2020, with revenues plunging from AED 7.4 billion to AED 2.5 billion. The workforce was halved, yet Mr McLoughlin ensured that the company’s core values remained intact, prioritising employee welfare and transparency. By pivoting quickly to expand digital capabilities, launching a home delivery channel from its Click & Collect service, and maintaining a strong corporate citizenship agenda, Dubai Duty Free weathered the crisis and emerged with a more diversified and resilient operational model.
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Derived from the impact-led dialogues at the ABLF Talks, these policy-shaping documents are designed to inform, inspire, and ignite action across all sectors, from inclusive growth and sustainability to innovation and digital transformation.
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