Everyone is looking for the 'shovel sellers' of the AI revolution -
But what if the gold is actually in work boots?!
In every gold rush, there are those who dig for gold – and there are those who sell equipment to the people looking for it,
In the artificial intelligence revolution -
Everyone talks about Nvidia, chips, servers, electricity, and data centers...
But there's one company that found itself on a much less expected side of the revolution:
Boot Barn - $BOOT
Boot Barn is an American company that sells workwear, work boots, safety shoes, jeans, and apparel for workers.
Boot Barn's CEO, Jon Haizen, provided us this week with a very interesting glimpse into what's happening on the ground at his company:
'More and more of our orders are from data centers'
At the Goldman Sachs Consumer and Retail Conference on September 15 – which we attended – we heard Haizen say that the company's B2B business, which previously focused mainly on supplying workwear and boots to oil and gas drilling companies and construction companies, is taking a sharp turn, with more and more orders coming from data centers.
This is not a theoretical story – it's a vibrant and kicking reality:
When the ground is cleared – work boots are needed,
When the structure is built – work boots with steel toes are required,
When electrical systems and equipment are installed – electrical-resistant protective clothing also comes into play.
In other words, Boot Barn doesn't just sell shoes:
It is starting to follow the lifecycle of AI infrastructure and provide workers on site with the clothing, footwear, and equipment they need to turn the dream of big tech companies into reality,
And the numbers are already starting to speak:
The company's work boot segment has shown sales growth in stores for about 5 consecutive quarters – and now the company reports growth of approximately 10% in comparable sales in the segment,
And according to the CEO – he doesn't intend to stop here.
Boot Barn relaunched its B2B activity under the brand -
Boot Barn Workforce – a digital platform and sales team whose goal is to directly approach construction companies, energy companies, and data centers and offer them its services.
According to company management – the target:
Approximately 2,100 data centers that are under construction or development in the US.
Think about the implications:
Thousands of projects.
Tens of thousands of workers.
Millions of work hours.
And every single one of them must wear shoes, clothing, and safety equipment.
This is exactly the story of the 'shovel sellers'.
During the California Gold Rush – not everyone who came to look for gold got rich.
But those who sold shovels, pickaxes, and work equipment to the miners enjoyed enormous demand from everyone trying to find it.
Now – something similar is happening:
Only instead of gold mines – there are data centers, instead of miners – there are construction workers, electricians, and technicians.
And instead of shovels – there are work boots, safety shoes, and protective clothing.
This is one of the most creative ways to see how much the AI revolution is already spilling over beyond technology companies,
The big money isn't staying only in laboratories and server farms.
It's also reaching contractors, electricity companies, turbine manufacturers, transformers, building materials – and now even work boots.
The AI gold rush probably won't need shovels and pickaxes,
It needs jeans, a helmet, and steel-toed boots.