Johnston & Murphy Returns To The Fairway After Decades Long Golf Hiatus

Golf runs decades deep in Johnston & Murphy’s DNA.   The 170-year-old footwear brand, a division of Nashville based Genesco
GCO
(NYSE: GCO), first trotted out shoes meant for strolling fairways back in the 1920s when “kilties” and “ghillies” and the two-toned look were all the rage at country clubs. J&M exited the golf space during the Great Depression but would step back into the tee box in the 1960s. 

“Based on the archives we have, the most exciting period was the 1970s and 1980s when the brand aligned with a lot of the best golfers in the world,” explains Danny Ewoldsen, president of Johnston & Murphy.

“You had Greg Norman, Ken Venturi, Gene Littler, Hale Irwin, Tom Weiskopf—the list goes on and on—but obviously none more exciting than Arnold Palmer who was the official ambassador for J&M Golf in the 1980s.” During their relationship with the seven-time major winner, the brand had a one-of-a-kind pair of saddle shoes handmade for “the King” out of lizard and ostrich leg. J&M hung up their cleats again in the 1990s when the sands of fashion shifted making the dressy leather bottomed style they offered out of vogue.

In a wide-ranging conversation with Ewoldsen on the brand’s return to the golf space, we touch on everything from golf’s evolving fashion sense to whether a line of kilties and ghillies throwbacks may be in the cards.

Mike Dojc:  Why did Johnston & Murphy decide to get back into golf footwear?

Danny Ewoldsen: One of the catalysts came from Ned Michaels, an old friend of mine who was a former touring pro and he now covers golf for several major networks and the PGA Tour. He was covering the Pebble Beach tournament and got poured rain on for two days straight. He told me his rain gear finally gave up but his feet stayed warm and dry and he was wearing the Johnston & Murphy Prentiss which is the platform that we used to build our golf shoe. He told me if we made a golf shoe similar to our Prentiss style there would be tremendous demand for them and turns out he was absolutely right.

MD: There’s a sea of golf shoe brands, where do you see Johnston & Murphy fitting into the greater golf footwear marketplace?

Ewoldsen: Our brand’s position is really the same regardless of the category. We’ve always focused on the premium space and we do it by providing real quality, great style, and innovation. Versatility is also an important ingredient. Take it from someone like me, I have absolutely worn our XC4 golf shoe directly from our office to the course—not as much as I would like. But many of our consumers are time starved and versatility checks an important box for them. 

MD: How have initial sales been?

Ewoldsen: We didn’t plan to make a lot of noise, we really just said let’s throw out some product we are really proud of and let’s learn a little bit for a season. Our brand’s always been really iterative, and the results have really exceeded our expectations and we’re chasing inventory right now. The white XC4 H1-Luxe has been the number one selling shoe on our website this spring across our entire line which none of us saw coming.

MD: Two styles of the shoe are already sold out on your website. In retrospect should you have produced greater quantities?

Ewoldsen: We are always comfortable with the idea of learning a little bit first. We love to get feedback from our customers, both our consumers and our wholesale partners, and understand what matters to our consumers and based on that we then can play a lot of offense. So, I think we’ve built a base case and I think we are ready to run now.

MD: Has golf’s almost built-in social distancing given the category a leg up amidst the global pandemic?

Ewoldsen: It can’t hurt. For us the product was fully designed and in place prior to the pandemic so that really didn’t shape our decision at all but you can say the timing was serendipitous in some ways. Many of our consumers are quarantined and not as focused on wear to work styles right now and golf has provided a nice incremental revenue stream. They’ve certainly been well received.

MD: What is your impression of current trends in golf fashion?

Ewoldsen: I love what’s happening with golf attire today. Performance has taken the front seat but golfers still care very much about their appearance. A lot of the guys that I play with have a golf wardrobe that rivals their work wardrobe and I think for my buddies, they’re much more likely to experiment with color on the links than they will going to work or other places. We’ve recently launched a small golf apparel collection to complement the shoes.  They all live in the performance category: breathable, moisture wicking, wrinkle resistant and most importantly really stretchable fabrics that move with you.

MD:  Has golf fashion headed in a sportier direction in the last few years?

Ewoldsen: I think it’s all about style, performance, and versatility. We are seeing a big trend around products that can be worn on and off the course. I think that’s an important selling point. Lord knows if you follow fashion at all it’s all about leisure wear, it’s just dominating the market right now and I think quality golf apparel really falls into that category. I think you can be casual and still be tailored, and I think that’s where golf is moving.

MD: Give me the 411 on the XC4-H1 Luxe Hybrid?

Ewoldsen: I’ll give you four things. First: they are great to look at in any colorway, I think our design team nailed the look. Second: the shoes are instantly comfortable, super soft premium leather, with a neoprene collar that really secures your foot in place. We also have our Smart Degree technology that regulates the temperature of your foot so it’s never too hot or never too cold. Third: the performance is tremendous. They are very stable. They have a mini-lug rubber outsole that does an unbelievable job of gripping all the grass surfaces. Lastly, the shoes are super versatile, they really can be worn on and off the course and look great in multiple settings. I’ve worn them extensively as have many of my buddies and we all agree they get the job done beautifully.

MD: Will we see any touring pros or celebrity golfers wearing the line?

Ewoldsen: We have had a lot of conversation about that and nothing to announce at this point but something I think we’ll definitely investigate.

MD: If you reintroduced kilties and ghillies today as throwbacks, do you think they would fly?

Ewoldsen: I think there is always room for niche market for a nostalgia novelty and for a brand like J&M, where it’s really legit, I think that could be interesting but generally speaking that’s not where the market is today. Today’s golfer wants performance and versatility and if you combine those, those attributes, and you think about great style and premium materials, that really is the definition of what J&M does best. Not to say we won’t go back to our archives and do some throwback product, if this continues to gain momentum it could be an exciting initiative.