WELCOME COLM MCLOUGHLIN, EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF DUBAI DUTY FREE
W e are once again delighted to be the title sponsor of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival, which is one of the most prestigious sporting and social events in Europe. The race has been known as the ‘Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby’ since 2008 and since that time, our involvement with the Irish Derby has grown exponentially. We have created activities both on and off the track and, together with our partners at The Curragh Racecourse, have developed lots of experiences to celebrate the derby. They include the Dubai Duty Free Charity Ball in aid of the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Golf Classic, both of which will be held at The K Club while a Busk and Food Festival will be held the weekend before the Irish Derby in Newbridge. At the track, we support the Foodscape Kildare Paddock, where racegoers can try produce from local County Kildare food producers and of course we sponsor the Most Stylish Lady Competition and provide a great prize of a trip to Dubai with flights, accommodation and spending money at Dubai Duty Free.
It was 2002 in Gatwick Airport when I met with the late Michael Osborne who was then the chairman of the Curragh Racecourse. We got chatting as we waited for our luggage to come off the flight and he suggested that we sponsor a race at the Curragh and this in turn lead to the Dubai Duty Free sponsorship of the Oaks on ‘Dubai Race Day’. Fast forward to 2008 and the title sponsorship of the Irish Derby became available and we took it over. Since that time our own company has grown dramatically. When we first sponsored the Irish Derby we employed just over 3,000 people, we now employ over 6,000 and last year our turnover was close to US$2 billion, making us the single largest airport retailer in the world.
The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby is a major race meeting attracting widespread media coverage across Europe and beyond and is therefore in line with our global strategy of promoting Dubai and Dubai Duty Free through sport. Ireland is becoming an increasingly important market for Dubai and the United Arab Emirates in terms of travel and business and we believe that the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby will heighten interest further in Dubai. Sports sponsorship is a key part of our business and marketing strategy and our involvement with the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby and the recently concluded Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, which was won by Rory McIlroy, fits very well with our objectives.