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. 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 had agreed to purchase the rest of its Hudson Ltd worth around $311 million which would delist Hudson from the New York Stock Exchange. ==Locations==