Dubai Duty Free Wins 'Brand of the Year' From Superbrands

Dubai Duty Free Wins ‘Brand of the Year’ From Superbrands

Leading UAE brands honoured with Superbrands status at the 'Oscars of Branding' tribute event.

July 23, 2010 10:02 by Rasha Reslan

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July 21, 2010: Superbrands Middle East today announced that Dubai Duty Free has won the ‘Brand of the Year’ at the sixth annual Superbrands tribute event, which was held at the Intercontinental Dubai Festival City. The country’s strongest brands were individually honoured at the event, which also saw the unveiling of the 2010 Superbrands book featuring many of the country’s best brands. Dubbed globally as the ‘Oscars of Branding’, the event was attended by the country’s most prominent senior business, marketing and branding executives.

“The tribute event is a celebration of many of the country’s strongest brands and in turn recognition of the people who work hard to ensure the success of their brands. We are happy to announce that Dubai Duty Free was voted ‘Brand of the Year’ for 2010 as they scored the highest points amongst all the brands. Despite the global economic slowdown, Dubai Duty Free has overcome the challenges faced by the global airport retail sector with its innovative promotions and initiatives, which have proven to be a huge success,” said Mr. Mike English, Director, Superbrands Middle East.

“Even after 26 years of success, Dubai Duty Free is a brand that continues to excel and grow – a perfect example of a Superbrand. They are one of the most trusted and recognized brands internationally. We would like to congratulate them on this feat and wish them even more success in their future endeavours,” Mr. English added.

Dubai Duty Free has received many national and international awards in recognition of its customer service, trend-setting retail initiatives and marketing. Dubai Duty Free, which achieved record sales of US$1.14 billion in 2009, has been acknowledged as the largest single duty free operation in the world.

Accepting the award on behalf of Dubai Duty Free, Managing Director Colm McLoughlin said, “We are delighted to receive the top Superbrands award and thank the council members and associates for voting for Dubai Duty Free. As a brand, we have always understood the importance of marketing and in having a meaningful relationship with our customers, our suppliers and our own employees. This award reflects our efforts over the past 26 years.”

Sixty two top brands were awarded the Superbrands status out of thousands available in the UAE. The brands that scored more than 80% of the total possible marks were declared Superbrands by the Brand Council. To win this accolade is a powerful endorsement and evidence for existing customers, potential customers, the media, suppliers, investors and employees of each brand’s exceptional status.

The Superbrands Council, which comprises of some of the leading names in UAE business circles, compile the shortlist which is then scored online by more than 2,500 marketing professional. The brands which meet the stringent criteria set by the council are awarded with Superbrands status.

Most of the selected brands appear in the Superbrands UAE book, which traces the history and achievements of each of the brands. The 2010 Superbrands book is a coffee table book, which includes a two-page profile of each Superbrand tracing the foundation and development of the brand and a ‘Things You Didn’t Know section’ highlighting interesting facts about the brand and its unique achievements.