AI data-center boom drives bulk workwear demand at Boot Barn
Boot Barn says data-center construction is driving a growing share of its bulk workwear orders, as the AI buildout ripples through the wider economy.
The artificial-intelligence spending surge is showing up in an unexpected corner of the U.S. economy: the workwear aisle.
Boot Barn, a western-wear retailer with nearly 600 stores, said a growing share of its bulk workwear orders is now linked to data-center construction. The company has long supplied boots in bulk to oil, gas and construction firms looking to outfit entire teams, but the mix is shifting.
"More and more often, those are data centers," CEO John Hazen said at the Goldman Sachs Global Consumer and Retail Conference in New York.
The retailer is now monitoring nearby data-center projects to decide which boots to stock in local stores — a sign of how AI infrastructure spending is reaching beyond technology hubs and influencing demand across the broader economy.
Boot Barn's work-boot business has posted comparable sales growth for five straight quarters. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on revenue growth tied to data centers.
The type of footwear depends on the stage of construction. "When they're clearing dirt, we need regular work boots. When they're building the four walls, we are looking at steel-toe work boots," Hazen said.
The trend extends beyond Boot Barn. Workwear maker Brunt Workwear said some of its strongest demand is coming from California and Texas, two states attracting large AI infrastructure investments. CEO Eric Girouard said the company is "pushing hard" to meet demand from data-center construction.
The demand is reflected in the labor market. U.S. construction employment has ticked up this year, with the sector adding 22,000 jobs in August, according to the Labor Department.
The growing appetite for workwear illustrates the scale of the data-center buildout underway in the U.S., even as some AI executives have recently urged caution about the pace of the technology's development and communities increasingly push back against the energy and water demands of new facilities.