Tribute – Colm McLoughlin
Colm McLoughlin – A tribute to a travel retail titan
We salute former Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Colm McLoughlin – one of travel retail’s great leaders, pioneers and statesmen – who has passed away.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam (May his soul be seated on God’s right hand)
Colm McLoughlin, who passed away on 30 October at age 81, will be remembered as one of travel retail’s greatest pioneers, leaders and statesmen.
As Managing Director and later Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Colm was the driving force behind Dubai Duty Free’s rise from a start-up on 20 December 1983 to become the largest single airport duty-free operation in the world.
Colm and his beloved wife Breeda, soulmates over several decades {Photo: Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye; courtesy of Dubai Duty Free}
He retired on 31 May, almost 55 years to the day after he entered the duty-free & travel retail industry, on 1 June 1969. It was then that he took up a post as Special Assistant to Freeport Shops General Manager Bill Maloney at Shannon Airport (the birthplace of the airport duty-free industry in 1947 under the leadership of Dr Brendan O’Regan), Ireland.
In later years he became synonymous with the extraordinary rise and rise of Dubai Duty Free to become the most famous travel retail brand on the planet. Yet when a group of Irish executives from state-owned Aer Rianta arrived in Dubai in October 1983 on a six-month consultancy project to advise the Dubai government on the creation of an airport duty-free enterprise, none surely could have envisaged what lay ahead.
One of Colm’s proudest moments as Chancellor of Middlesex University Dame Janet Ritterman presents him with an Honorary Doctorate in 2017
Colm, a key member of that team, came expecting a half-year stint in the desert sands and never left.
When he first walked into Dubai International Airport all those years ago, what did Colm McLoughlin see? “It was a very small airport with just two conveyor belts,” he recalled in an interview with The Moodie Davitt Report. “It was massively congested with 3 million passengers going through a building that was built for just 750,000.” Dubai International has since become the world’s busiest hub for international passenger traffic.
In 1983 Dubai Duty Free began with 100 employees, management and staff. Today there are close to 6,000. Sales in the first full year of operations were US$20 million – in 2023 they reached more than US$2 billion.
Colm and Breeda McLoughlin with Martin Moodie in Auckland, New Zealand during the Rugby World Cup in 2011
The changes that have taken place in Dubai have been momentous but are all driven by an attitude of positivity and progress, as McLoughlin noted in an interview with us last year for a special commemorative book to mark Dubai Duty Free’s 40th anniversary.
“The government of Dubai has been very positive and even in 1983 the attitude was about improvement, building up and success. And that continues to be the case,” he told us.
Colm McLoughlin: An extraordinary life and travel retail career
Typically, he played down his own role in the success of that story, attributing it to the quality of people who drive the operation forward.
“The biggest ingredient for Dubai Duty Free is the dedication and effort of all our staff,” he said. “All of our senior team have been many years with us and they are as dedicated as you would find in any operation. We all work very closely together. And it’s fair to say that if I was trying to find the biggest single reason for our success, apart from the traffic growth, it would be the dedication of all the staff but particularly the senior team.”
With senior management as Colm accepts a Lifetime Achievement Award from MEADFA
Saluting Colm as he celebrates 50 years in the duty-free industry in 2019
Colm was also a key figure in Dubai Duty Free’s pioneering work in marketing, sponsorship and CSR which each has its own platform in the company’s sustained excellence as a business.
In particular, Colm spearheaded the company’s strategy to give back to the most needy in society, with a particular focus on children.
Accepting the Irish Presidential Distinguished Service Award from Irish President Michael D Higgins while Taoiseach Enda Kenny looks on in 2014
“We formed the Dubai Duty Free Foundation in 2004 and since that time, we have supported charities in 28 different countries,” he told us for the 40th anniversary title we published last year. “We have spent AED127 million (US$35 million) on various charities in those countries. We can very happily say we restored people’s eyesight, we funded cleft palate operations and have done many, many different things.”
Showing support for Smile Train and presenting a cheque to the cleft charity representative Priscilla Ma at the Miles for Smiles run in 2009
His colleagues at Dubai Duty Free certainly recognise the huge role see played in all of their lives.
Managing Director Ramesh Cidambi said, “Colm was a great leader who built an award-winning retail business at Dubai Airport and steered its growth to a US$2 billion business with over 6,000 employees at the time of his retirement. He was a true friend who touched so many lives within the travel retail industry.
“I join our Chairman, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and all of our employees in sending our deepest condolences to Colm’s wife Breeda, his son Niall and his daughters Tyna and Mandy and all of their families. Our thoughts and prayers are with Breeda and the family at this very difficult time.”
A statement from the company summed up what many are thinking after Colm’s sad passing.
“Apart from the business acumen, Colm will be warmly remembered by many for his easy-going personality, his warmth, his generosity, extraordinary kindness and friendship. That will be his enduring legacy.”
*Click here for our initial story and tribute. More will follow in our November Magazine edition. Readers can also leave their own message on The Moodie Davitt Report’s LinkedIn page.
Dubai Duty Free’s own ‘Trinity’: Colm McLoughlin, George Horan (left) and John Sutcliffe (right) with Frontier Awards in 1986
Colm with Dubai Duty Free staff in 1983 as the story began
Remembering a titan of travel retail
We feature comments from friends, colleagues and business partners on Colm McLoughlin’s immense influence – more appears at The Moodie Davitt Report LinkedIn page and Martin Moodie’s LinkedIn page.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai: With a heavy heart, we mourn the passing of Colm McLoughlin, a distinguished visionary whose dedication transformed Dubai Duty Free into a global icon over more than four decades. Colm was an inspiring and humble figure, one of the beautiful faces of Dubai and a brilliant mind with a kind and loving heart.
Regent Travel Asia Group Founder Jose Chim Esteban: So saddened by this. Colm was my mentor and idol since I started in this industry in 1987. He took the time to teach the ropes to this 29 year old kid from the Philippines. I am so privileged to have known him. The industry has lost a true giant. And more than that a dear and faithful friend to us all. Hugs to Breeda. I am in total disbelief. What a beautiful man he was.
Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths: I’m deeply saddened by the loss of my dear friend and colleague, Colm McLoughlin. Colm’s remarkable 55-year journey in travel retail transformed our industry, and his impact leaves a legacy that few can match. He was always a welcoming and generous host and the stories he told were the stuff of legend.
Duty Free Global Founder Barry Geoghegan: Colm was a great, humble human being and a leader of people from all races and all walks of life. He treated everyone the same. His kindness, friendship, generosity and insightful advice meant so much to so many of us lucky enough to have become long-term friends.”
LVMH North Asia President Michal Schriver: Such an extraordinary man. My condolences to his family. He deserved many years in a happy retirement. I was fortunate to have met with Colm a few times as a competitor and so admire his commitment to our industry and how he treated his competitors with such mutual respect. A great loss to the industry.
Lagardère Travel Retail Charman & CEO Dag Rasmussen: Goodbye, Colm. Everything has been said, you were extraordinary, a role model for the travel retail industry.
Former ARI Director General Eamon Foley: Colm was an inspiring, authentic and modest leader, highly respected throughout the travel retail industry. For those of us lucky enough to have known Colm and Breeda, we will always remember the warm welcome and how they made us feel special when we met up. May he rest in peace.
Essence Corp Vice President Patricia Bona: Sad news for all the TR community. With Colm, the whole world is losing a true gentleman.
Edrington Taiwan Managing Director Helen Wong: Colm was a true gentleman and always so humble and kind to everyone. Incredibly sad news and the loss of a legend who made an indelible mark on the industry.
Reaction to the loss of Colm McLoughlin
We feature a snapshot of headlines from media in Dubai that underlined how important a figure Colm McLoughlin was in the emirate’s emergence and success over the past 40 years.
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The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 340 | 4 November 2024
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (MA Travel Retail). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com