Hudson, one of the largest travel retailers in North America, is a wholly owned subsidiary of international travel retailer Dufry AG of

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. Based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States, the Company operates more than 970 Hudson, Hudson News, Hudson Booksellers, cafes, specialty retail and duty-free shops in 87 airports and transportation terminals in the United States and Canada. The company's holdings include Hudson News, the world's largest operator of

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

newsstands.

History

In 1918, Isaac Cohen founded Hudson County News in Bayonne, New Jersey. In 1947, under the leadership of

Robert B. Cohen Robert Benjamin Cohen (May 26, 1925 – February 1, 2012) was an American businessman and founder of Hudson News, a chain of Newsstands and stores located primarily in American airports and train stations. Cohen grew the Hudson News into the ...

, Hudson County News began delivering magazines in Hudson County, New Jersey. In the 1980s, Cohen took over a bankrupt newsstand operator the company was supplying at Newark Airport. In 1987, he set up the first branded Hudson News store in

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia ...

. This led to the acquisition of other stores in airports by the Cohen family. This was a separate subsidiary from

Hudson News Distributors Hudson News Distributors is one of the two largest companies in the field of magazine distribution in the United States. It is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. In 1918, Isaac Cohen founded Hudson County News in Bayonne, New Jersey. In 1947 ...

also owned by the Cohen family. In 2008,

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

firm Advent International acquired the Hudson Group, and merged Swiss duty-free retailer Dufry of

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with the Hudson Group. Under the terms, Hudson Group became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dufry. The Cohen family retained ownership of Hudson News Distributors. In 2011, Hudson Group was given responsibility for all of Dufry's duty-free operations in North America, expanding its travel retail scope. Later, in 2013, Hudson Group debuted the new “Hudson” travel essentials concept, which had evolved from its "Hudson News" roots to focus on travel essentials. Over time, Hudson Group's retail portfolio expanded even further, and it is now one of the largest travel retailers in North America. In February 2018, Hudson Group was listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ″HUD″. On November 25, 2019, Hudson Group rebranded to Hudson. To promote the rebranding the executive team rang the closing bell at the NYSE. In August 2020, Hudson announced that Dufry AG has agreed to purchase the rest of its Hudson Ltd worth around $311 million which will delist Hudson from the New York Stock Exchange.

Locations

The Company operates more than 970 stores throughout North America, mainly in airports and commuter terminals. Hudson News operates in 24 of the 37 busiest airports in North America. Reflecting its roots in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...

, the company also operates stores in

New York Penn Station Pennsylvania Station, also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station, is the main intercity railroad station in New York City and the busiest transportation facility in the Western Hemisphere, serving more than 600,000 passengers ...

Newark Penn Station Pennsylvania Station (also known as Newark Penn Station) is an intermodal passenger station in Newark, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, ...

, Grand Central Terminal, the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 buse ...

, the United Nations Gift Centre inside

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(not to be confused with the UN's own bookstore), the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and the Empire State Building. In 2016, Hudson Group expanded its

footprint Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking or running. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with hooves or paws rather than feet, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made by shoes. The ...

to also operate retail outlets in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

hotels. In 2013, Hudson Group opened 13 specialty retail stores in LAX's Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT).

References

{{reflist Companies based in Bergen County, New Jersey Bookstores of the United States East Rutherford, New Jersey Mass media in New Jersey Retail companies established in 1918 1918 establishments in New Jersey