Doha
Qatar Airways and Qatar Duty Free (QDF) unveiled the airline’s first-ever brand shop at the Hamad International Airport (HIA) on Wednesday.
Complete with burgundy lighting, curved walls, a business class desk and an A380 first class seat to experience, the shop is specially designed to enable customers to feel as though they have stepped on board a Qatar Airways aircraft.
The grand reveal of the one-of-a-kind boutique took place at an event at HIA, officiated by Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker.
VIPs in attendance included the Qatari ambassador to Germany, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani; German ambassador to Qatar Hans-Udo Muzel; Hamad International Airport chief operating officer Badr al-Meer; and Qatar Duty Free vice president (operations) Thabet Musleh.
The unveiling was attended by guests including Al Sadd Sports Club general manager Turki al-Ali, as well as professional football players from the legendary German football club FC Bayern München Kingsley Coman, Mats Hummels, Niklas Süle, and football star Gabriel Arenas from the Qatar football club Al Sadd Sports Club.
Al-Baker said, “Qatar Airways is delighted to launch its first-ever boutique to engage shoppers in a unique way by enabling them to enjoy the Qatar Airways experience on the ground. We are excited to launch this new retail concept at our magnificent home and hub, Hamad International Airport, a further testament to our vision of redefining the perfect travel experience for our travellers.”
Musleh said, “We are proud to launch such a unique concept to our customers, enabling them to experience the unique luxury of Qatar Airways. This boutique takes shopping to the next level, where customers can experience an A380 first class seat, grab the latest football strip from one of the world’s top global teams, play their own penalty shoot-out and shop from an exclusive range of branded travel essentials including a high-end luggage collection, a kids’ range of travel games and accessories. This truly is the embodiment of an experience worth travelling for.”
Qatar Duty Free was awarded ‘Airport Retailer of the Year’ at the 2018 DFNI Global Awards. In April, the leading airport retailer was recognised at the PAX International Readership Awards, when Qatar Airways won ‘Best In-Flight Duty Free Programme’ for the Middle East and Africa, and was acknowledged as an industry leader for its outstanding in-flight duty free service, which is operated by Qatar Duty Free.
Later this year, Qatar Duty Free, along with Qatar Airways and Hamad International Airport, will host the world’s most influential airport commercial revenues conference, The Trinity Forum. The conference, organised by The Moodie Davitt Report, ACI World and ACI Asia-Pacific, which will be held in Doha on October 30 and 31 this year.
Source:www.gulf-times.com
