East Rutherford, N.J. — Hudson Group, a Dufry company and leader in North American travel retail, has signed an agreement to acquire assets related to the operation of Brookstone stores in U.S. airports from Apex Digital, Inc. Hudson has also obtained the right to be the exclusive airport retailer to operate Brookstone stores through a license agreement with Bluestar Alliance, LLC, owner of the Brookstone brand and trademarks.
Brookstone is an established American brand well known for its unique selection of innovative products in the travel, wellness, home and entertainment categories. As part of the agreement, Hudson will also have the exclusive right to sell select Brookstone merchandise in its travel convenience stores.
The agreement covers 34 airport stores, of which 30 are currently open and operating. Of these 34 stores, 33 stores are in airports where Hudson has existing operations
“The addition of Brookstone to our already diverse portfolio of branded concepts further strengthens our retail offering and nicely complements our travel convenience business,” says Roger Fordyce, CEO of Hudson Group. “We are pleased Bluestar has entrusted Hudson to grow Brookstone’s brand across U.S. airports, which underscores our strong reputation of successfully operating branded and specialty stores in the highly-regulated travel retail environment.”
Hudson Group will now operate, manage and also grow the Brookstone branded retail footprint in North America.
Hudson Group, one of the largest travel retailers in North America, is anchored by its Hudson, Hudson News and Hudson Bookseller brands and operates over 1,000 duty-paid and duty-free stores in 89 locations, including airports, commuter terminals, hotels and some of the most visited landmarks and tourist destinations in the world. Hudson’s wide range of store concepts include travel essentials and convenience stores, bookstores, duty-free shops, branded specialty stores, electronics stores and quick-service food and beverage outlets. For more information, visit www.hudsongroup.com and www.dufry.com.
Brookstone products are available at 30 Brookstone retail locations throughout the U.S., online at www.Brookstone.com and through select premium retailers worldwide. The Brookstone brand is owned and managed by Bluestar Alliance, LLC.
Bluestar Alliance, LLC owns, manages and markets a portfolio of consumer brands that span across many tiers of distribution from luxury to mass market with a heavy emphasis on department store retail brands.
SOURCE: Hudson Group