Boot Barn ups store openings; sales rise 15% but miss Street
Boot Barn reported top- and bottom-line growth for its second quarter and upped its store opening plans even as its sales missed Street estimates.
The nation’s leading lifestyle retailer of western and work-related footwear, apparel and accessories opened 19 new stores during the quarter, bringing its total store count to 584.
On the earnings call, CEO John Hazen said that Boot Barn’s most recent group of 126 stores (opened during the past 18 months) are on track to generate approximately $3.4 million in first year sales on average, or roughly $200 thousand above original projections.
“Our new stores continue to perform well across both new and established markets, demonstrating our ability to expand our national footprint and increase total market sales,” he told analysts.
Citing the strength of its real estate pipeline, Hazen said the company has raised its store opening plans for its current fiscal year, which ends on March 27, to 75 to 80 locations up from 70 previously.
“With a long term opportunity to expand to 1.2 thousand locations nationwide, we remain confident in our ability to sustain new store growth for years to come,” Hazen said.
Boot Barn has approved plans to develop a second distribution center in Kansas City, It is expected to become operational in 2028, CFO James Watkins told analysts on the earnings call.
“This investment will expand our distribution capacity and enhance our ability to support our growing store base,” Watkins said. “The new facility represents another important step in building the infrastructure necessary to support our long-term growth opportunity of 1.2 thousand stores nationwide.”
In other developments, Boot Barn is moving its regional marketing strategy to a nationwide television campaign, executives said on the call, It also relaunching its business-to-business platform, Boot Barn Workforce, to capture larger scale construction and infrastructure projects.
[READ MORE: Boot Barn supports growth with scalable product development]
Second Quarter
Boot Barn's second-quarter net income totaled $52.5 million for the quarter ended Sept. 26, compared to $42.2 million in the year-ago period. Earnings per share increased 26.3% to $1.73, beating analysts’ expectations of $1.58 to $1.65 per share. (Excluding the impact of tariff refunds, which provided an estimated $0.05 per share benefit, earnings increased 22.6%.)
Net sales increased 15.1% to $581.8 million, missing analysts’ expectations of $576 million and $582.8 million, according to Yahoo Finance. Same-store sales rose 1.4%, with retail comparable sales up 1.0% and e-commerce comp sales up 5.2%.
Transactions decreased 1.5% during the quarter, which was partially offset by a 2.5% increase in average basket size. The average unit retail increased 2%.
“We are pleased with our second quarter results, as continued revenue growth and merchandise margin expansion contributed to a 26% increase in earnings per diluted share,” Hazen said in the earnings statement. “Our new stores continue to exceed expectations, with recent openings generating sales above our original projections. This performance reflects the growing national reach of the Boot Barn brand and reinforces our confidence in the company's long-term expansion opportunity.”
He added that the company the company is excited about the holiday season and its refreshed merchandise assortments, along with its improved in-store presentations and “significantly expanded national marketing campaign.”
"Together with the continued momentum in our work business and the relaunch of Boot Barn Workforce, these initiatives provide additional opportunities to drive sales and support our long-term growth,” Hazen said.
The company lowered its annual sales guidance for fiscal 2027 at between $2.565 billion and $2.593 billion compared to its previous estimate of $2.580 billion and $2.625 billion. Net income for the year is now expected to be between $263.6 million and $272.0 million compared to its previous estimate of $267.9 million and $281.0 million.
Boot Barn also said that its board had authorized the company to repurchase an additional $400 million of shares of its common stock under its existing repurchase program. Following this increase, approximately $468 million remained available for future share repurchases under the current repurchase program.
