Kingdom's travel retailer, Bahrain Duty Free Shops (BDFS) said yesterday it posted a 9.6 per cent year-onyear increase in consolidated sales for the first six months of the fiscal, with net profit growing 13.5 per cent.
Sales in the second quarter alone grew eight per cent year-on-year in airport trading, against the backdrop of a mere 2.7 per cent increase in passenger numbers at the Bahrain International Airport.
"All elements of our business - airport duty free shops, sea ports, inflight duty free and the Navy base as well as our retail training company Bahrain International Retail Development (BIRD) - performed exceptionally well given the tough economic conditions," said its general manager, Steve O'Connor in a statement yesterday.
"Although trading conditions continue to be very competitive due to major price reductions and continuous sales offers and promotions in the local and regional markets, our overall strategy and quality customer service is clearly paying dividends."
He said the half-year results were encouraging as passenger numbers increased by just 2.7 per cent.
"This is an exceptional result for BDFS, indicating that strong fiscal controls, investment in technology and staff training are returning significant benefits for the business and shareholder value is being maintained."
All key performance indicators showed gains over 2009 figures, with spend per head up 5.3 per cent, consolidated passenger penetration rates up 3.3 per cent, while transaction numbers increased 6.1 per cent and consolidated transaction values by two per cent.
Online sales also rose 87 per cent with www.bdutyfree.com hits increasing to 1.2 million per month. Pre-order sales increased by 33 per cent, the travel retailer said.
"All categories with the exception of music performed strongly compared to 2009 with electronics and fashion showing the highest increases of over 40 per cent each. Sales of watches climbed 33 per cent, jewellery 22 per cent, food and confectionery 19 per cent, liquor 5.5 per cent, fragrances six per cent and tobacco 3.2 per cent.
"Further improvements in shop design and layout are planned for the third quarter to enhance the overall shopping experience. We also plan to use technology to gain further efficiencies and improvements in overall performance for a better customer experience and improved shareholder value."
By K.V.S. Madhav
© Bahrain Tribune 2010
