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Private company

Hudson

American travel retailer founded in 19181

Hudson, one of the largest travel retailers in North America, is a wholly owned subsidiary of international travel retailer Avolta AG, formerly Dufry AG, of Basel, Switzerland. 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 newsstands.2 It is part of Advent International.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1918Founded1

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Hudson, one of the largest travel retailers in North America, is a wholly owned subsidiary of international travel retailer Avolta AG, formerly Dufry AG, of Basel, Switzerland. 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.2

Corporate structure

Hudson is part of a group headed by Advent International. 21 entities, 7 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

What it owns

What Hudson reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.

Stakes and holdings (Wikidata)

  • CNN Newsstand
  • Hudson
  • Hudson Booksellers
  • Hudson News
  • Ink by Hudson

Things Wikidata records the company as owning, with the share when stated.1

How it started

History

In 1918, Isaac Cohen founded Hudson County News in Bayonne, New Jersey. In 1947, under the leadership of Robert B. Cohen, 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 Liberty International Airport. In 1987, he set up the first branded Hudson News store in LaGuardia Airport. This led to the acquisition of other stores in airports by the Cohen family. This was a separate subsidiary from Hudson News Distributors also owned by the Cohen family.

In 2008, private equity firm Advent International acquired the Hudson Group, and merged Swiss duty-free retailer Dufry of Basel, Switzerland 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.

From Wikipedia’s article on Hudson, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Leadership

Who has led Hudson, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Products and brands

  • final good

Listed on Wikidata.1

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Also owns

  • CNN Newsstand
  • Hudson
  • Hudson Booksellers
  • Hudson News
  • Ink by Hudson

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 2008Acquired Acquired by Advent International1
  2. 1918Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2