Boot Barn Soars Over America’s Cowboy Fever

Americans haven’t Yee’d their last Haw to their cowboy dreams just yet. Western fashion has shown up everywhere in our modern-day culture — and its popularity continues to grow:

1/ Music. Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road, released in 2019, may have inspired celebrities like A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar and Harry Styles to don the cowboy hat.

2/ TV + Movies. The success of the Yellowstone series and (early) Westworld led to a resurgence in western-themed films.

3/ Fashion. Are you even fetch if you don’t have cowboy hats, boots, or denim in your wardrobe? Ralph Lauren and other apparel giants have embraced western style in their collections.

Where do modern cowboys shop?

Boot Barn Holdings (NYSE:BOOT) is the largest western wear retail chain (by far) with 300+ stores. The growing popularity of western style has driven Boot’s stock to new highs.

Some quick hits about the company:

• Gross profit margins have increased to 38.6% — up from 32% pre-pandemic.
• $BOOT trades at a 14x P/E ratio — lower than other fast-growth retailers like Dollar General (NYSE:DG) at 19x.
• Unlike other retailers last year, Boot Barn didn’t need to rely on discounts to sell excess inventory.

“It is one of the best growth stories in retail,” — per Portfolio Manager Gary Bradshaw (Barron’s).

The style has gone through many ups and downs in the past few decades — but Cowboys don’t say goodbye, **and it doesn’t seem like we’ll be saying that to the trend for now.