Cannes_2026_TUESDAY_ISSUE_DIGITAL

Qatar Duty Free investing in three key areas: e-commerce, marketing and loyalty Qatar Duty Free is Main Partner of the TFWA Lounge at this year’s TFWA World Exhibition & Conference. Ahead of the event, Thabet Musleh, Chief Retail and Hospitality Officer, Qatar Airways, shared his thoughts with the TFWA Daily. Q atar Duty Free’s priority at this year’s TFWA World Exhibition & Conference is to communicate very clearly where it is investing for growth and to invite partners to join it on that journey. “We are focused on delivering tighter integration across the entire passenger journey,” explains Thabet Musleh, Chief Retail and Hospitality Officer, Qatar Airways. “This is going to create even more opportunities for brand partners to reach our customers with more impactful, personalised offers. We will deliver this by investing in three key areas: e-commerce, marketing and loyalty.” Through e-commerce Qatar Duty Free is building a powerful new growth channel for brands that extends their ability to reach customers beyond the airport. “As the digital extension of our ‘experiencentricity’ strategy, we’ve designed this platform to be lifestyle- led and experiential with greater freedom in terms of how brands tell their stories,” says Musleh. “We’re also making it incredibly user-friendly for shoppers with gate-delivery and 90-day pre-order amongst the various options. In marketing, we’re investing heavily in delivering greater continuity through our upcoming Worth Discovering campaign platform. It gives QDF a recognisable voice throughout the year that can be flexed for different seasons, celebrations and categories, and delivered across all QDF, Qatar Airways and Hamad International Airport touchpoints. We’re also building out Privilege Club to make loyalty the connective thread running through every shopping journey, connected across e-commerce, marketing, retail, dining and travel.” Qatar Duty Free’s sales increased by an impressive 9% year-on-year in the 12 months to 31 March 2026. “We are a high-performing and very resilient business,” says Musleh. “We have seen that over the past 25 years, faced with previous global disruptions and regional tensions. We have no plans to slow down and are confident of a good year ahead. In terms of categories, beauty remains the strongest-performing area. We’ve done some incredible collaborations with our beauty brand partners this past year – from Armani to Lancome, and Charlotte Tilbury – and there will be many more to come over the next 12 months across all categories!” Indeed, Qatar Duty Free has continued to build the retail offer at Hamad International Airport. The Assouline Travel Series Kiosk, a world-first, has brought something entirely new to its lifestyle and travel offer. Aesop has opened its first store in Qatar, New Balance has strengthened the sport and lifestyle category, and POP MART has given collectibles a bold and recognisable anchor brand. “And of course, there is a lot more in the pipeline!” Musleh shares. “But our approach remains the same: every new concept needs to enrich the shopper journey and align with the needs and wants of our customers, whatever their shopping mission and budget.” Looking ahead, the upcoming innovation that Musleh is most excited by is Qatar Duty Free’s new e-commerce platform. “We are building an offer that will allow passengers to shop with QDF much earlier in their journey, with more than 12,000 products from over 600 brands planned for the platform.” Meanwhile, Qatar Duty Free is the Main Partner of the TFWA Lounge at this year’s TFWA World Exhibition & Conference. “We’re really pleased to be partnering on the TFWA Lounge again this year,” says Musleh. “The lounge is an informal gathering space where the industry can come to discuss, engage and relax. At QDF, a lot of conversations and decisions with our partners are made outside of meeting rooms, so it makes sense for us to support a space where that type of dialogue is fostered and encouraged throughout the week.” Musleh adds that TFWA World Exhibition & Conference is an invaluable platform for the industry. “It is the one moment in the year where everyone is together, around the same table, able to share ideas, and make key decisions. We may be in an era of digital collaboration, but nothing can replicate that face-to-face engagement.” Thabet Musleh, Chief Retail and Hospitality Officer, Qatar Airways: “We are focused on delivering tighter integration across the entire passenger journey. This is going to create even more opportunities for brand partners to reach our customers with more impactful, personalised offers. We will deliver this by investing in three key areas: e-commerce, marketing and loyalty.” Qatar Duty Free has continued to build the retail offer at Hamad International Airport. The Assouline Travel Series Kiosk, a world-first, has brought something entirely new to its lifestyle and travel offer. Tuesday 29 September 2026 34 T F W A D A I L Y