DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Colm McLoughlin, an Irishman who landed in the deserts of the United Arab Emirates and helped lead Dubai Duty Free into becoming an airport retail behemoth generating billions of dollars, has died. He was 81. McLoughlin ran Dubai Duty Free from 1983 until he retired earlier this year, a span of over 40 years that saw Dubai grow from a creekside trading port into a modern metropolis , home to the world's tallest building and other attractions.
And all the millions of passengers coming into Dubai International Airport, now the world's busiest for international travel , saw the rows of electronics, cigarettes, cigars, alcohol and other goods available duty-free at his stores, hawked by a salesforce in green suit jackets, yellow ties and conversing in multiple languages. “It’s a very Middle Eastern kind of thing,” McLoughlin told the Los Angeles Times in 1987 as he showed off its gold market. “We have to cater to a lot of tastes.
” Dubai Duty Free said in a statement that McLoughlin died Wednesday after a short illness, without elaborating. The operation's new managing director, Ramesh Cidambi, praised McLoughlin for steering its “growth to a $2 billion dollar business with over 6,000 employees at the time of his retirement.” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the CEO of long-haul carrier Emirates and chairman of Dubai Duty Free, offered his condolences.
“His passion, commitment and pioneering spirit have left a lasting legacy,".