Airport Experience® News - Retail & Services Issue 2025

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Diversification, Ewoldsen adds, has made the brand viable despite the ongoing struggles of the broader airport specialty retail sector. “We have the ability to ebb and flow, to really react to what the consumers needs are as they change,” he says. In an airport, if there’s a shift from business to leisure, we can change the assortment to react to that. “Also, on the consumer front, we have a tremendously broad appeal – our consumers really range from 25 years old to 80 years old,” Ewoldsen adds. “Because of that, as the traveling public changes, we can just adjust on the fly and make sure that we’re giving them what they need.” Ewoldsen calls Johnston & Murphy a “heritage” brand – one that evolves to stay relevant among its core customers and new entrants to the brand. His growth plans are ambitious – doubling the airport footprint to 50 stores would be remarkable – and Ewoldsen feels his team is up to the task. “We really aspire to be the absolute best partner that we can in all of our airport locations, and we’ve built some really nice partnerships and learned a lot over the years about airport retail,” he says. “All that time we put in and the success we’ve had puts us in a unique place to continue to grow. I think as airports are looking for specialty retail brands that can be successful in a challenging environment. They can look to Johnston &Murphy to provide that, and that’s really our goal.”

Evolving Demographics Johnston & Murphy is a footwear and apparel company that has been catering to men for 175 years. For about one-tenth of that time (17 years), the company has also offered a women’s collection. Today, men are still the focal point, and most airport stores carry the men’s line exclusively or nearly exclusively. In the larger footprint stores, however, women’s apparel is making headway. “As we get a little more square footage, we’re able to add some more categories,” Ewoldsen continues. “So, for example, in the case of Denver, we were able to bring our women’s line in, which has really been terrific and well received there.” He stresses that Johnston & Murphy is there to meet the business and leisure apparel needs of busy professionals of both genders. “Whether it’s a male or a female, we take the exact same approach,” he says. Connie Cartmill, vice president of stores for Johnston & Murphy, describes the typical consumer as busy professional, one who appreciates the level of service and purchasing options that the company offers. “Sometimes he’s traveling for work, but sometimes he’s traveling with his family for leisure,” she says. “Our stores are a convenience to him. He can buy online and pick up in the store. He often comes into the store and purchases something, then has us hold it till he comes back. He has the option to order [an item] online and pick it up in the airport store or the airport store will ship it for him.”

product assortment to travelers. Expansion, as well as adding new airport locations and second locations within existing airports, are all viable options. “In some existing airports we are adding a second location,” Ewoldsen says. “We’ve found that if done correctly, we don’t hurt the first location. It’s fully incremental, so that’s been a great strategy for us.” One tenet that Johnston & Murphy doesn’t stray from is its commitment to operate all stores themselves. “I think one of the reasons that we have been so successful in airport retail is because we operate our own stores,” Ewoldsen says. “We have tremendous respect for all the primes and all the operators that have found a way to be successful in airports, because it’s not an easy business. For us, the best path is to operate our own stores. Sometimes it’s through a direct lease with the airport. Sometimes we’ll partner with a prime to take a space, but in all cases, we’re operating our own. And we think, honestly, that is a huge part of why we’ve been able to be so successful.” Above Left: Johnston & Murphy has built its reputation offering quality men’s clothing for both business and leisure (Miami International Airport location shown). Above Right: While the lion’s share Johnston & Murphy’s business comes from menswear, women’s apparel is also featured in some larger-footprint airport stores (Nashville International Airport location shown).

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AX NEWS SEPTEMBER 2025