Hudson Pivots To Hotels As Parent Dufry Expands Retail Footprint In Brazil

Virgin Hotels Las Vegas opened on Thursday with a retail offering from Hudson.

Hilton Hotels

Travel retailer Hudson is re-examining the potential of the hotel channel after a hiatus of five years, at a time when its core airport business is struggling during the pandemic. The company has just opened new stores in Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, part of the Curio Collection by Hilton HLT .

The property opened on Thursday in America’s casino capital, joining existing Virgin hotels in Chicago, Dallas and Nashville. Another two are on their way this year in New Orleans and New York.

Hudson has six stores in the luxury 1.27 million square foot resort unit just off The Strip. They have open frontages spilling out onto the casino floor. The retailer is the first to operate at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and Hudson CEO Roger Fordyce says “the timing could not be more perfect as we begin to witness the rebound of travel.”

Domestic air travel in the U.S. had been making a slow comeback from April to November but stalled in December and January. Nevertheless, hotel occupancy on The Strip of 42% in February is the highest since October 2020.

Hudson’s six stores cover more than 4,000 square feet and include:

5th & Sunset selling sunglasses from brands like Gucci, Kate Spade, Maui Jim, Oakley, Ray-Ban
SWAG, a destination shop offering high-end fragrances and jewelry, branded apparel, swimwear, collectables and local delicacies
Brookstone for gadgets, audio, entertainment, travel essentials and wellness from the likes of Apple AAPL , Bang & Olufsen, Beats, Bose and Sony
Chill by Hudson offering over-the-counter medicines, snacks, beverages, books and magazines, and other last-minute items
Dunkin’ serving up coffees, fresh-baked goods, and on-the-go snacks
Hudson, a one-stop-shop for travel needs…

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From Forbes - March 27, 2021