Jeddah Duty Free II
Jeddah Duty Free’s vision becomes reality
(Continued)
The Jeddah Duty Free retail space carries a striking visual identity inspired by the elements of earth, water and sky, complemented by some evocative design flourishes, led by the KAIA clock as a central landmark.
Three core zones that differ in style and colour act as calling cards for the key categories. Water (food, souvenirs) is expressed by blue tones and a coral-shaped canopy; warm, earthy tones inspired by the mountainous area near Jeddah draw travellers to the beauty area; while sky features light, reflection and an ethereal quality in framing luxury.
Travellers enter the international departures space after alighting from a transit train. Here they immediately encounter an engagement stage with a bright, digital Welcome Tree at its heart and a wide selection of Saudi artisanal products, part of the vibrant Treasures of the Red Sea campaign.
The campaign leads on a nautical theme, evocative of the underwater world, with many fixtures made from recycled plastic and 3D printed.
Dates and Saudi perfumes are among the promoted products with the hero an exclusive and highly innovative trio of limited-edition perfumes under the Scents of Arabia label, sold only through Jeddah Duty Free at the airport.
The retailer collaborated with French fragrance creator Majda Bekkali to develop this beautifully crafted, luxury line (priced SAR690/US$184 per bottle). These are respectively titled Anwar (The Light), inspired by the glow of lanterns in Jeddah’s souks; Nafoora (The Fountain), inspired by King Fahd’s fountain; and Rawashin (The Windows), which pays homage to the city’s carved wooden lattices.
This zone of around 100sq m will be rotated to include other launches and events later, and it complements other stages that house seasonal or sports-related campaigns from Formula 1 to football-themed events.
The travel retailer aimed to create spaces that encouraged travellers to take and post pictures; a further highlight space early in the journey – in the food & confectionery zone – does this through a Memories of Saudi booth with various icons as well as national backdrops available to embellish their pictures.
The Jeddah brand resonates through the airside arena and commercial space
In confectionery global brands blend with regional and local (the latter around 15% of category sales). Among the firsts is a regional debut for the M&Ms/Kate Spade bag and chocolate collaboration, which initially came to life at Antalya Airport (also through Gebr. Heinemann).
In a neat touch, some of the international brand houses also promote using a localised touch, for example Toblerone with its ‘Love Jeddah‘ wallbay signage.
A big highlight of the airside space lies close by – Davidoff’s first airport cigar lounge in the world.
An extensive walk-in space houses a fine and varied collection of Davidoff cigars and accessories alongside Cuban ranges, with generous luxury space next door in which guests can relax and enjoy a cigar. Shoppers can even sample their purchases, with the retailer resealing their package before departure.
Other tobacco products remain important in departures though not as much as in arrivals – where the category dominates the business in currently limited space, though this will be tripled to around 450sq m in 2026.
Further along the store, children’s goods are positioned in a prominent, expansive zone, with a LEGO shop-in-shop alongside other play-led fixturing.
The journey leads to a hugely impressive arena for local food products under JAH Arabia‘s commitment to support Saudi craft and culture. The best-known large and many smaller independent Saudi producers of dates and sweets are present here.
When the store opened, the Zamool dates brand sold one palette’s worth of goods in 20 minutes, such was its popularity.
In a lovely addition, one can sample local products’ key ingredients through scents in bell jars across shelves that represent collaborations with leading coffee and tea makers.
The M&M’s Experience adds vibrancy to the retail offer, targeting travellers of all ages
The beauty assortment blends global heroes with rising local stars
Digital Out of Home visuals capture attention with cross-category offers
Forward with fashion
Fashion & accessories is designed in an open concept way without walls to the front; sunglasses are the major focus in the centre, with womenswear and menswear on either side. The open display allows for flexibility in the assortment, with space available for up-and-coming brands or regional specials.
This area is framed by seven mono-brand boutiques for Lacoste, MCM, Polo Ralph Lauren, Boss, Michael Kors, Longchamp and Swarovski. In a further debut concept for Jeddah Duty Free, crystal jewellery house Swarovski’s outlet houses the first Swarovski Created Diamonds space in the region.
The final big opening here, coming soon, is a Breitling boutique combined with space for Tumi.
The category approach broadly is to lean on affordable luxury across multiple brands to capture the breadth of consumers passing through the airport.
Leading on fragrance
P&C in more than 2,000sq m is probably the stand-out feature of the store, as befits what will be the largest category in the newly opened environment.
Fragrances lead the way here in space and turnover terms, with niche brands – a core focus for Heinemann’s evolution of its beauty business at key locations – in a dedicated zone with over 20 elegantly personalised brand spaces.
With the depth of audience that Jeddah serves, there is enough spend to sustain the many high-end brands represented here from Amouage to Tiziana Terenzi to Tom Ford and others.
The retail environment blends neatly with the design and architecture in King Abdulaziz International Airport Terminal 1
Colourful welcome: Treasures of Saudi Arabia occupies the engagement space right at the store front as travellers enter
Another feature of beauty is the wealth of space allocated to popular regional labels in skincare as well as Saudi fragrances that have gained popularity through social media, a further nod to support for the community across the store.
This is reinforced by the final part of the store we visit, the souk, which is not only a home for traditional souvenirs but also presents sought-after Saudi fashion labels, a welcome twist on localisation in a key category. It is also presented in a light style, aided by the brighter wood tones, in a move away from some more traditional souk-style executions that one encounters.
With the much-upgraded environment, JAH Arabia expects beauty to reach around 40% of sales, fashion at least 20%, with the balance from the rest of the categories.
With just days since many of the spaces opened, there will be fine-tuning to come.
More broadly, customer flow is influenced by how travellers enter the departures space upon alighting from the transit train, with some moving straight to the heart of the store and perhaps on to gates rather than exploring the perimeter areas.
To counter this dual circulation, the retailer has included many stop points and engagement zones in the various flows to draw travellers in. Heinemann and partners also placed many mainstream, popular items around the perimeter to be sought out, with luxury items and other brand highlights towards the interior.
The combination of these dynamics should capture traveller attention and trigger them to stop or turn around, with strategically placed campaigns and events on the journey.
Wayfinding from commercial zone to gates, while not a retail issue on its own, influences consumer satisfaction and is another factor that requires attention.
The partnership also overcame many logistics and technical challenges to open the store on time and with such vibrant impact.
The offer has something for most guests, from lower spending pilgrims (a key audience in an airport that serves millions of visitors to religious sites Madinah and Mecca) alongside luxury shoppers with high ticket spends – and has surprise and theatre aplenty. It blends lovely design touches with well-placed digital, and will be enhanced by the completion of the mezzanine F&B range allowing more dwell time nearby.
With this combination, and the space that allows brand partners to shine, Jeddah Duty Free can proudly take its place among the great travel retail arenas of the Gulf region.
Partner’s message
The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 347 | 26 September 2025
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 6 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 email kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com