Country western-style attire has always been popular in certain markets, especially in Southern states such as Texas. But in 2024, it seems as if country western-esque influences are extending way beyond their Southern roots and heading into the mainstream. The country western trend has been strong this year in pop culture. For example, the Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2024 menswear collection, which had its runway show in January, prominently featured cowboy-themed attire. Beyonce will release a country album this month, in which her latest single features a music video with her dressed in country western garb. This summer, the first two Horizon: an American Saga films of the four-part series starring Kevin Costner will be released, portraying the early settlement experiences of the Old West. Another highly anticipated summer movie, Twisters, has a trailer in which the lead character is adorned in a cowboy hat in a rodeo setting. In addition, famous model and influencer Bella Hadid continues to be photographed in country western outfits in support of her relationship with cowboy rodeo star Adan Banuelos.
Western-themed retailers are taking over brick-and-mortar spaces. There are numerous mom-and-pop retailers in this category, as well as more regional-based brands, such as Cavender’s Boot City, which plans to open about three to five new stores in the South/Southwest per year for the foreseeable future. But the main country western brands to watch are Boot Barn and Tecovas, as both are eager to continue expanding their store count into untapped areas of the country.
California-based Boot Barn has especially aggressive expansion goals, with plans to open between 50 and 60 new units per year over the next eight to 10 years. Growth is expected to be targeted in new markets in the Northeast, particularly in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, West Virginia and New York, all states where Boot Barn first expanded last year. Other states where Boot Barn has a presence but still has room to grow include Alabama, Mississippi, Delaware, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and Nebraska. A lot of these markets will be aided by its new distribution center that opened last year in Kansas City, Mo., which allows the brand to service stores more easily in the Eastern portions of the country. Boot Barn is also open to acquiring and rebranding smaller, regional-based mom-and-pop western themed retailers.
Preferred sites for Boot Barn are in the 8,000- to 12,000-s.f. range, either a freestanding building near a retail shopping area, or an anchor space in a strip mall, neighborhood shopping center or power center. The site should have great visibility and be near a major freeway or highway off-ramp. Boot Barn’s wide ranging demographic base means it can work well in all types of settings: small town rural neighborhoods with farms and ranches near agricultural-based businesses, areas near manufacturing factories and warehouses, and even highly populated suburban and metropolitan regions. Ideal co-tenants can include businesses that attract a similar blue-collar clientele, such as Tractor Supply Co. or Harbor Freight Tools, as well as country western-style bars or eateries, such as Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. Boot Barn has recently been expanding its merchandise to appeal to a wider range of customers in all age brackets. In addition to everyday country western attire and regulation work wear such as flame-resistant clothing, Boot Barn now also sells casual country lifestyle attire such as baseball hats and hiking boots, as well as fashionable and trendy western apparel.
Texas-based Tecovas expects to open between 10 and 15 new stores per year over the next two years. New areas to be targeted include the more northern portions of the country in regions that are still untapped by Tecovas, especially the Pacific Northwest cities of Seattle and possibly Portland, Ore. Other rumored areas of interest for Tecovas include more northern-based Midwest and Northeast markets, such as Chicago, Boston, Cleveland and New York City, as well as Northern California, potentially Sacramento. Additional possible buzzed-about sites for new Tecovas stores include Boise, Idaho, Las Vegas, Louisville, Ky., and Athens, Ga.
Preferred spaces for Tecovas are between 3,000 and 4,000 s.f. End caps, inline units or retail street-front sites, including ground-floor units of mixed-use buildings and standalone buildings, will be targeted. Class A lifestyle centers and sites on thriving retail street corridors are especially sought after, and a nearby college or luxury multifamily residence in the vicinity is also ideal, as Tecovas appeals to high-earning Gen Z-ers and millennials. Co-tenants should include other non-competing aspirational luxury-oriented apparel and lifestyle brands, such as Coach, Madewell, Lululemon and Tommy Bahamas. Tecovas, which sells luxury handmade Western-style boots, leather accessories and apparel, also offers such in-store perks as complimentary drinks and boot shines.
