Shares for Boot Barn Holdings were down more than 12 percent shortly after markets closed on Wednesday, following a sales miss for the Western apparel and footwear retailer.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, Boot Barn reported net sales of $425.7 million, an increase of 11 percent over the same time last year, but short of the company’s expected sales target between $438 million and $448 million, for growth of between 14.4 percent and 17 percent. Net income was $46.4 million in the quarter compared with $44.7 million in the prior year. Diluted earnings per share were $1.53, ahead of expectations outlined by the company.

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“We experienced double-digit total sales growth while expanding product margin for the seventh consecutive year,” said Boot Barn president and CEO Jim Conroy in a statement. “I am encouraged by the ongoing progress across each of our four strategic initiatives and feel the company is well positioned for continued growth.”

For the entire 2023 fiscal year, net sales were $1.66 billion, up 11.4 percent over the prior fiscal year and on top of 66.6 percent net sales growth last year. Same-store sales dropped 0.1 percent over the prior year. Net income was $170.6 million, or $5.62 per diluted share, compared with $192.5 million, or $6.33 per diluted share in 2022. Penetration of exclusive brands grew almost 6 percentage points in the year.

Boot Barn opened 45 new stores, including in five new states, in fiscal year 2023 and now counts 345 stores in its fleet.

The Irvine, Calif.-based company has previously been lauded by analysts due to its expanding store count, exclusive brands and surge in women’s Western boots.

Looking ahead, Boot Barn expects to open 52 new stores in fiscal year 2024 and achieve total sales of between $1.69 billion and $1.72 billion, which would represent growth of between 2 percent and 4 percent over the prior year. Boot Barn also expects to grow the penetration of its exclusive brands by 400 basis points.

In Q1, Boot Barn expects sales to drop between 2.4 percent and 0.5 percent to total between $357 million to $364 million. Net income per diluted share is expected to be between 79 cents and 85 cents.

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