Colm McLoughlin, Irishman who led Dubai Duty Free to become an airport retail giant, dies at age 81

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Colm McLoughlin, an Irishman who landed successful nan deserts of nan United Arab Emirates and helped lead Dubai Duty Free into becoming an airdrome unit behemoth generating billions of dollars, has died. He was 81.

McLoughlin ran Dubai Duty Free from 1983 until he retired earlier this year, a span of complete 40 years that saw Dubai turn from a creekside trading larboard into a modern metropolis, location to nan world's tallest building and different attractions.

And each nan millions of passengers coming into Dubai International Airport, now nan world's busiest for world travel, saw nan rows of electronics, cigarettes, cigars, intoxicant and different equipment disposable duty-free astatine his stores, hawked by a salesforce successful greenish suit jackets, yellowish ties and conversing successful aggregate languages.

“It’s a very Middle Eastern benignant of thing,” McLoughlin told nan Los Angeles Times successful 1987 arsenic he showed disconnected its golden market. “We person to cater to a batch of tastes.”

Dubai Duty Free said successful a connection that McLoughlin died Wednesday aft a short illness, without elaborating. The operation's caller managing director, Ramesh Cidambi, praised McLoughlin for steering its “growth to a $2 cardinal dollar business pinch complete 6,000 labor astatine nan clip of his retirement.”

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, nan CEO of long-haul bearer Emirates and president of Dubai Duty Free, offered his condolences.

“His passion, committedness and pioneering tone person near a lasting legacy," Sheikh Ahmed said successful a station connected nan societal level X.

Born successful Ballinasloe, Ireland, successful 1943, McLoughlin joined Shannon Airport's first-in-the-world duty-free cognition successful 1969. In July 1983, he came pinch a 10-man squad to Dubai to group up nan sandy airport's duty-free operation. His six-month statement ended up stretching into 40 years.

Like nan remainder of nan aviation industry, Dubai Duty Free took a deed during nan years of the coronavirus pandemic and hose groundings. But income person since bounced back. In 2023 alone, nether McLoughlin, Dubai Duty Free sold 6 cardinal cans of beer, 2.3 cardinal bottles of whiskey, 2.3 cardinal cartons of cigarettes, 10.2 cardinal cigars and 3.3 cardinal bottles of perfume.

One large conception has been Chinese travelers, aft Dubai Duty Free worked to judge their in installments cards, had unit speaking Mandarin and put successful equipment they wanted.

“We would beryllium silly if we didn’t return advantage of it and effort to service them,” McLoughlin told The Associated Press successful 2012.

And galore a bleary-eyed traveler successful Dubai's cavernous airdrome tried their luck astatine nan changeless raffles being offered, whether for $1 million, a luxury automobile aliases a racing motorcycle.

McLoughlin besides was known for Dubai Duty Free's sponsorship of tennis and play tournaments, arsenic good arsenic his activity supporting Dubai's Irish community. He received nan Irish Presidential Distinguished Service Award successful 2014.

“Colm McLoughlin has been an integral portion of nan Irish organization successful nan UAE,” his grant citation read. “Both successful his highly successful master profession pinch Dubai Duty Free and successful his activity roles crossed almost each Irish organization, Colm McLouglin has played a hugely affirmative domiciled successful nan promotion of Irish interests successful nan UAE.”

McLoughlin is survived by his woman Breeda, boy Niall, daughters Tyna and Mandy, and their families.