UPDATE 2-Buckle Q1 beats Street; shares rise

* Q1 EPS $0.58 beats est $0.50

* Q1 rev $199.7 mln vs est $187.4 mln

* Shares up 9 pct (Adds conference call details, analyst's comments, share movement)

BANGALORE, May 21 (Reuters) - Apparel and footwear retailer Buckle Inc (BKE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) posted higher-than-expected first-quarter results as its trendy product offerings remained popular with customers despite a slowdown in mall traffic, sending its shares up 9 percent.

"We believe BKE has the most compelling fashion assortment in its markets and that gross margins are likely to continue to expand during 2009 due to its pricing power and sales momentum," Cowen & Co analyst Laura Champine said in a note to clients.

Champine, who kept her "outperform" rating on the stock, also said that every expense line in the quarter was better than she had expected.

Gross margin, driven by an increase in merchandise margins, rose 250 basis points to 43.4 percent in the quarter.

Merchandise margins reflected reduced markdowns as a result of strong sell-throughs on some new products, a company executive said on a conference call with analysts.

The company, which currently operates 393 retail stores in 40 U.S. states, still expects to open 21 new stores in 2009, of which it has already opened one, he said.