I agree. While it hasn't happened to me yet I always walk past Brooks Brothers at a place like DFW or ORD and think about how one day I am going to be so happy that these kind of things are air side. I imagine there are at least a few hundred mishaps like this a day across the country.

The ones I don't understand are the really high end specialty stores, Cartier, Breitling etc. Who buys really expensive watches, jewelry in the airport?

I am at ORD and LAX at all hours. LAX has a Bulgari and ORD has a Mont Blanc. Often I will wander when I am trying to relax or get some quick activity in before a long flight, and I can appreciate the fact that they are convenient for picking up a last minute gift, but I never see anyone in there buying anything. From a business perspective, I cant imagine the rents are cheap in those locations either.

Maybe I am totally wrong and the brand awareness justifies the locations.

I think that considering the low amount of churn, they are doing well enough. There's always some locations where you see storefronts changing every other year, but most airports I have been in seem to remain more or less the same.

Another alternative view would be that a spot in the airport isn't so much about profit but more about advertising a brand (in some cases).

Yeh, right.
Maybe this has caught on in other parts of the world now that airports strive to become destinations in themselves but I have yet to notice it outside Germany. The major German tour operators have had a presence at DUS for at least half a century, as well other German airports
It's quite clear from this link below that many Germans do go to the airport to book their foreign holidays.

Dusseldorf Airport Travel Market

Clearly others don't hate it or the stores wouldn't exist.....

Airport retail is the last bastion of "Brick and Mortar" retail these days. Online shopping is killing most of it elsewhere. But stores in airports have a captive market. If someone needs something last minute, where else are they going to go? Even curbside most airports are physically isolated from other options. There is very little competition...save for Paradies vs HMS Host, and vending machines that vend electronics.

But I do wonder about some of the retailers. Everyone knows water and gum will move fast, but men's suits? Haircuts? Some odd retail choices exist. I get that someone may need a suit and a haircut on the go..but frequently enough to make it viable?

I have a friend who works for one of the above mentioned companies. According to him, the numbers get better every year.

I'm sure that's the case. So many comments here fall into the "I wouldn't do it therefore nobody would do it" category and fail to comment on the demographics of the typical airport customer and also failing to focus on the opportunity presented. Whether it's the business traveller too busy during the trip to buy anything or, as I witnessed a couple of months ago, an entire SQ A380 flight crew buying perfumes in Jo Malone, there are thousands upon thousands of people who want to take something different home from their trip, and who have money to burn.

I suspect the confusion here is that many of the posters are Americans who are perhaps thinking about a small domestic airport, where there really are not many shops and there's nothing interesting to take home. That's an unusual set of circumstances - retail is huge in the world's major airports.

I agree. People are thinking about luggage, how old or shabby their existing luggage is, seeing other people walk by with fancy bags... maybe it's time to retire that old college duffel bag. Airports and luggage stores seem like a natural pairing. I probably wouldn't buy from the airport store, but it gives me a chance to get my hands on the luggage and then I'd order online. Or maybe I'd buy and have it delivered home. Especially if my spouse fell in love with it.

This. I've bought more than a few gifts for Mrs. OTD at an airport. Being a frequent flier means not having much time for shopping malls.

I imagine it's money from the Far East, where due to local tariffs (??) they gobble up tons and tons of luxury goods overseas, during travel, etc. I read how an overwhelming number of luxury goods sold in Hong Kong are from Chinese mainlanders coming over on the weekend.

Smart people who don't want to pay tax on them?

Yes, but luxury watches have a huge retail profit margin attached to them and thus it is feasible to find something much below MSRP if you negotiate well or know "someone".

Most of those luxury brand retail stores in airports are NOT owned or operated by the company itself. Rather, they are franchise locations who simply sell under the brand name but are completely separate companies, typically large service/retail organizations that do not have consumer name recognition. Sometimes, the employee nametags will make it clear. Other times, you have to check the receipt to see which company actually charged your card.

Same goes for food service....most large airport food concessioners are HMS Host, Sodexo, etc., even though the branding might say Starbucks or Sbarro.

My guess is that major national chains are not that interested in operating their own locations at airports. Rent is expensive, logistics are complicated, staffing is complicated, and more. I guess they decide it's better to sell franchises to the major food service contractors that are used to operating in such a specialized business environment. It's a win-win for both. The brand name gets additional brand exposure with current and potential high-value customers, and the franchisee gets to sell under a highly-regarded international brand name.