TRBusiness’ Faye Bartle met with Thabet Musleh in Cannes.

Qatar Duty Free’s revenue is on the ascent and Thabet Musleh, Chief Retail and Hospitality Officer, Qatar Airways Group, insists that the drive to deliver stand-out experiences informs decision-making at every turn. He explains how this laser focus on experiencentricity is accelerating the retailer’s three-year plan to double its business by 2027.

It’s a landmark year for Qatar Duty Free (QDF), with its milestone 25th anniversary in May and Qatar Airways Group announcing the strongest set of financial results in its history for the 24/25 fiscal year, with profits for the Group (encompassing cargo, catering and Qatar Duty Free) reaching QAR7.85bn (US$2.15bn) – an increase of more than QAR1.7bn (US$0.5bn) versus the year before. What’s more, the result has given rise to a record-breaking 28% increase in profit.

Within the results, revenue from ‘duty-free goods and beverages’ hit QAR3.56 billion (approx. $977.2m), up from QAR3.14 billion (approx. $862.4m) the prior fiscal year. [These figures are not exact equivalents of QDF’s revenue, but come close – Ed]. It may come as no surprise then that new developments are coming thick and fast. Hamad International Airport (DOH) has seen a major expansion with the opening of Concourses D and E, completed in March ahead of schedule, boosting the hub’s annual passenger (pax) capacity to 65 million.

QDF pledged to launch in excess of 25 new retail and F&B concepts this year, with Zegna, Brunello Cucinelli, Vilebrequin and the Lancôme Café de la Rose among the crop of latest stores. And of course, one of the most high-profile new additions and the one that Thabet Musleh, Chief Retail and Hospitality Officer, Qatar Airways Group, is “most excited about” is the first Pop Mart store in the Middle East, giving travellers a coveted chance to get their hands on the viral Labubu character.

With softening spend per passenger (SPP) weighing on DF&TR stakeholders around the world, cynics may expect every move to be driven solely by its potential for generating riyals, though Musleh is quick to highlight that this is simply not the case. In fact, he says, it’s ‘experiencentricity’ – making sure every decision revolves around the passenger experience – that trumps any other aspect when it comes to building the offering. 

Powered by data

When TRBusiness sat down with Musleh in Cannes in 2024, he asserted that, through this approach, the QDF team was going to double the business in three years’ time (click play on the video below to view the exchange). 

Fast forward to October 2025, and he is steadfastly confident that this ambition will be realised. It’s easy to understand how it may be within grasp, especially with the launch of the game-changing 36Q platform, which Musleh discussed the details of during his keynote address at the 2025 TR Consumer Forum in Amsterdam in June.

For those who may not yet be familiar, this powerful data engine provides a deep, real-time understanding of every passenger’s journey, drawing on insights from Qatar Airways, Hamad International Airport and QDF to cleverly aggregate and analyse passenger profiles, shopping behaviour and purchase preferences. As such, it gives brand partners subscribing to the platform the chance to tailor their offerings and promotions to optimise relevance to travellers.

In Cannes, 36Q 2.0 was introduced with upgrades based on feedback from users. Essentially, the improved iteration allows partners to toggle between sales metrics, filter by subcategory or brand and dive into visually intuitive dashboards. There’s also a new feedback feature designed to help its partners to align their offerings more closely with consumer needs.

36Q 2.0 was unveiled in Cannes with new functionality that allows partners to toggle between sales metrics, filter by subcategory or brand and dive into visually intuitive dashboards.

“As of today we’ve probably got around 25 partners [subscribed to 36Q] – but within those partners there’s big groups,” Musleh told us when we sat down for a one-on-one video interview while in Cannes. “What we are seeing now is that people are growing their business by using it properly and it’s creating a force that everybody now wants it. We have a beauty brand that’s grown its business by 78% over last year and we have a liquor brand that has grown its business by 108% against last year.

“It’s really specific data it’s what the industry keeps talking about… what we should be doing. We’re already doing it. It’s out there and getting used and it’s live.”

QDF has also introduced zoning cameras with the real-time tech mapping passenger movement and engagement across retail spaces. It taps into DOH’s existing camera network so brands can see exactly how shoppers interact with displays, what holds their attention and what prompts conversion at the checkout. All of this is giving rise to scope for instant improvements to store layouts and promotional activities so suppliers can fully maximise their square metreage.

QDF recently partnered with Lancôme Travel Retail to unveil Café De La Rose at DOH – a first-of-its-kind concept in travel retail blending beauty and gastronomy, located in Concourse D.

“We are still doing live trials at the moment but it’s incredible, it’s fascinating,” Musleh said. “It’s super interesting to really look at how people move around the store, shop, how multi-categories and creating multiple products in the basket is working.

“I think over the next couple of years, whilst business is going to be tough, the use of data is going to really help accelerate certain companies and I think the stronger companies over the next couple of years are going to be the ones who use data wisely.”

Personalisation at scale

Another venture helping QDF and its partners to drive personalisation at scale is the testing that’s underway on gate allocation to reflect the potential spend of the passenger body on board – aided by AI. In essence, this ensures planes are parked close to stores with categories that are typically desired by the passengers on board with a view to increasing dwell time and, ultimately, spend.

QDF’s Live the F1 Life campaign was crowned a Winner in the consumer-voted 2025 Global Travel Retail Awards.

This is further bolstered by the savvy deployment of concourse digital displays and timely in-store offers that are all aligned to the preferences, and even native language, of the passenger-body passing by.

“AI is there, AI is live, and it’s going to be a part of our lives,” said Musleh. “But how do we use AI effectively? This is what we’re trying to do. AI has been around for years in this business in terms of supply chain and forecasting stock, etcetera, etcetera, and what we’re now trying to do is take it to the next level and say ‘how do we increase the spend?’

“If I have a Japanese customer spending $100 on skincare, how do I make sure he spends $200, $300? And that’s by making sure we have the right product, in the right place, at the right time. And that’s also by making sure we know where this customer is going to go. Our job as retailers is making sure the product is available and visible to him.”

QDF pledged to launch in excess of 25 new retail and F&B concepts this year to mark its milestone 25th anniversary.

Finally, QDF’s hotly anticipated new digital retail offering platform is launching “very, very soon” according to Musleh. It’s set to leverage Qatar Airways’ Starlink connectivity to give travellers a chance to shop a curated 14,000-product portfolio in-flight and to click-and-collect on arrival. Details have so far been scant until Cannes, when QAG revealed that it will boast frictionless payment options, mobile-first design, and that shoppers can earn Avios rewards through the platform.

Furthermore, future phases are set to bring ‘immersive content, exclusive collaborations and richer campaign storytelling’ to the fore.

As Musleh asserted: “At Qatar Duty Free, we are driving innovation, every day. Because the airline, airport and retailer move as one, we can make things happen that nobody else in travel retail can pull off. The new tech we’ve unveiled – whether it’s 36Q’s real-time data, AI-driven decision making, or zoning cameras – means we’re not relying on ever-more passengers to grow the business.

“Instead, we’re driving spend and conversion, tailoring every moment to the traveller, and helping brands win in ways that simply aren’t possible anywhere else. If you’re a brand looking to lead the channel, let’s talk – because at QDF, we’re not just keeping pace with the industry; we’re setting it.” 

This feature first appeared in the TRBusiness November/December issue. Click here to read.

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