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　　Thabet Musleh Senior Vice President of Qatar Duty Free

　　Qatar Duty Free recently announced “groundbreaking” sales figures for the financial year April 2022 to March 2023, with revenue 59% higher than the fiscal year 2021-2022, and sales per passenger up 49%. Turnover during November and December of 2022 was more than 112% higher than the previous year.

　　Amidst this good news, we met with Thabet Musleh, who since our discussion here has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Qatar Duty Free (QDF), Vice President at the time. The candid interview was refreshing and we could see how passionate and committed to the business Thabet continues to be. You can read the conversation below.

　　The Louis Vuitton storefront at Hamad International Airport

　　Hibah Noor: Qatar Duty Free is known for its industry firsts, regional firsts, even global firsts. How do you keep up and what do you have in the pipeline?

　　Thabet Musleh: How we keep up is by looking at trends, looking at what’s happening and delivering for our customers all the time. We see that our customers are becoming more and more demanding of us, making sure they get these exclusives, and that is what we continue to work on. And I think it’s a testament to the great work the team at QDF does, when the brands trust us to be their launchpad and want us to be that launchpad for any new trends that they have coming in travel retail. But I think it’s also what we do as a company. We’re continuing to monitor trends­ — what’s happening not just in travel retail but also downtown. That’s what we do.

　　A great example of that is if you look at the fashion brand Thom Browne. It’s one of the fastest growing fashion brands in Asia, but it’s not in any airport in the world. We had discussions with them and met with them and now we’ve got the world’s first Thom Browne boutique in any airport in the world. It’s making sure that we deliver to our customers, so knowing that our Asian customers want Thom Browne, that’s what they’re looking for, the Koreans, the Chinese, the Japanese, then we make sure that we are the first person to contact them, and then we are ahead of the curve in bringing these exclusives.

　　HN: Who are these demanding customers you speak of, specifically?

　　TM: All our customers are demanding. Today, the consumer is different from what the consumer was five years ago and it’s very different from what it was 20 years ago. If you look at social media and the web, and the impact it’s had on the industry, it’s phenomenal. You look at luxury 20 years ago, people were aspiring to have a Vuitton or a Dior or even a Burberry bag. Today, it’s a lifestyle. It’s no longer enough to have the handbag. I need the handbag; I need the sunglasses; I need the makeup; I need to eat in a Dior café. Luxury now is a lifestyle.

　　Musleh points out that it comes to today's consumer luxury is a lifestyle

　　HN: Do you feel it’s not just the rich, the wealthy that are buying, now that luxury has become a lifestyle?

　　TM: It’s everyone. My children want branded products. When I was their age I’d be lucky if I got a football. So it just shows you the impact social media has on the world, because it’s driven by social media.

　　HN: We continually see information on what you’ve been doing and you’ve done so much even since December — what do you have in the pipeline going forward?

　　TM: I think we have a lot going forward. This year’s another big year for QDF. Next year will be an even bigger year for QDF. Because that’s what QDF is about — it’s about evolving the customer experience; it’s about looking at what customers want and delivering for them. It’s not about standing still. It’s about looking at our space, looking at our brands. It’s about looking at how we do business, and evolving it.

　　HN: Can you specify anything in particular?

　　TM: We unveiled an original Louis Vuitton lounge-restaurant concept. We’ve taken the Louis Vuitton retail and delivered a food and beverage experience to match it. It’s really exclusive, it is available only to First and Business Class customers, and to only Louis Vuitton VIP clients. So it’s really aspirational. Not everyone can go there. Everybody’s going to want to go there, but not everybody can. It’s incredible. It’s a first in the world.

　　"Louis Vuitton Lounge by Yannick Alléno"

　　HN: One common problem with airport shopping and experiences is the passenger simply having enough time to shop. And now QDF is offering so much selection. How does this work? Are people coming earlier and spending more time? Is that part of their itinerary?

　　TM: Yes, 100%. Look at what we’re offering. It’s the whole experience. It’s beauty, it’s liquor, it’s F&B. We are getting more and more people now choosing Doha as a transit hub because they’ve got more things to do. They offer great experiences and they’re able to relax and unwind before they get on to the next flight.

　　HN: Are you seeing mainly transit passengers or are people coming four to five hours earlier for their flight?

　　TM: Doha is predominantly a transit airport. That’s the majority of our passengers — upward of 80% is transit. But we are seeing more and more local passengers coming early, and what’s super interesting is we’re seeing less people spending time in the lounge. First and Business Class passengers are spending less time in the lounge and instead in coming down and enjoying the experiences we have via Fendi Cafe, Ralph Cafe, Oreo Cafe, Harrod’s Tea Room, Armani Restaurant, you know we have everything for everyone. And we’re seeing more and more people enjoying these.

　　HN: Everyone cares about their image on Instagram. When you're at a fancy restaurant, you put a picture up, when you're "shopping", you put up a picture. Whether people are buying or not, they’re taking pictures and posting. How are you ensuring you stay social media relevant?

　　TM: That’s what it’s about. It’s about staying ahead of the curve, understanding what’s hot. For example, another exclusive we’ve done is we opened the world’s first Watchfinder in an airport. It’s the world’s first shop in an airport that sells used watches. We opened Watchfinder in January I believe. It’s part of the TimeVallée concept. Our used watch sales are flying, beyond our wildest imagination. You look at what’s going on in the watch market globally, you’ll see pre-owned watches are doing really well, so it’s about us bringing that to our customers because it’s all the same customer. The customer that shops in your airport is the same customer that’s shopping downtown in any city in the world.

　　HN: At the beginning I think you were probably going to suppliers, but now suppliers must be banging on your door trying to come in.

　　TM: I don’t tell anyone where I live so nobody knocks on my door, but I can tell you my phone’s pretty busy.

　　HN: I know you have a great team that’s finding concepts and looking for the next thing, but aren’t suppliers coming to you with ideas?

　　TM: Yeah, for sure. Because QDF is known as an honest, reliable and trustworthy partner. We work hand in hand with brands. It’s all about collaboration and partnership, and that’s what brands want.

　　HN: What's next after the Louis Vuitton opening?

　　TM: We have the world’s first Dior spa opening in an airport, potentially in July. This will be the world’s first in an airport, and I believe only fourth or fifth in the world globally. This will be a mix of retail and treatments so you can get a full facial and you can go to the premium boutique and buy all the facial products that you’ve just tried. We’ll also have the world’s first Dior barbershop anywhere — nobody before has done a Dior barbershop. This will be also part of the spa, so we’re very excited about the project.

　　HN: There is a lot happening in the next two months.

　　TM: I told you, next year’s even bigger. We’ve finished 2023. We’re already working on 2024 and 2025.

　　HN: What’s happening at Hamad International Airport? Are there any renovations or new retail spaces coming up?

　　TM: The space is generally dictated and delivered through QDF. We kind of run the commercial space as such. In terms of the airport, in January of this year we started Phase B of the terminal expansion, which will add an extra 18 or 22 contact gates, taking the total to 24-28 contact gates by Q4 2024 or Q1 2025. This means our expansion will be bigger than most airports in the world. It doesn’t stop. If it stops it gets boring.

　　HN: Recently you announced that [QDF] replaced 100,000 single-use plastic bags with alternative shopping bags per month. This is one example of what QDF is doing to help the environment. What else do you have in the pipeline for this?

　　TM: It’s part of a bigger plan. Sustainability is important and we need to do more for the environment. We need to do more as a business. As with everything QDF does, our first step’s always a big step. And this is a big change for customers now, to say no more plastic bags, you only have this bag and you have to pay for it. It’s a big change for our customers. So, we are testing the water, and if it’s successful it could be part of a wider rollout.

　　Day2Day Essentials store at Hamad International Airport

　　HN: Is there anything else you’re working on in this area that you can tell me about?

　　TM: I think we’re constantly looking at sustainability and the environment, and what we can do as part of the Day2Day stores as well. Every Day2Day store now has a water machine, so we're encouraging people to refill water rather than buy plastic bottles of water. Again, we’re constantly looking at what we do.

　　HN: The Oreo Café sounds like a good concept. How is it going?

　　TM: Amazing. Again, it’s experimental. You’re traveling with your kids on holiday, what better place to take them than the Oreo Cafe? You can get a nice coffee, they can have their Oreo milkshake, Oreo biscuits. It’s a great family experiential cafe that everyone can enjoy.

　　HN: How long does something like that take to execute?

　　TM: Everyone in the industry knows me. I move fast.

　　HN: How did this idea come about? I don’t think I’ve seen it anywhere else.

　　TM: It was a joint idea. We initiated the conversation. Mondelez