Don't Judge the Market By Domestic Retail

You can't judge a market by retail. It's become a wasteland and if you sell the market because of VF Corp. (VFC - commentary - Cramer's Take), which I think is a terrific company but is still in retail. Target (TGT - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Macy's (M - commentary - Cramer's Take) don't really measure things. They are bad. I read a piece of research this morning on Saks (SKS - commentary - Cramer's Take). It seemed interesting, but I am not going there.

I only like Wal-Mart (WMT - commentary - Cramer's Take), TJX (TJX - commentary - Cramer's Take), Urban Outfitters (URBN - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Costco (COST - commentary - Cramer's Take).

In fact, I think this group is almost meaningless as a gauge to this market. It is purely domestic. I know that VF is trying mightily to move overseas as fast as it can but domestic is the anchor. Sears (SHLD - commentary - Cramer's Take) is another good example. It is just pure play on house price appreciation!

There was a time when retail mattered, when I looked to Kohl's (KSS - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Target as leaders.

Now I only look at Wal-Mart. That's all you need, and that's going to $60 if you want my opinion.

The others just don't seem to matter to the market at all, because they are simply American plays and that means very little these days.

Random musings: Tupperware (TUP - commentary - Cramer's Take) keeps delivering, weak dollar and all...Shorts panicking with Moody's (MCO - commentary - Cramer's Take). Shocked that it could report an upside surprise.. Not shocked about Schering Plough (SGP - commentary - Cramer's Take). ..Why does everyone want to put a gun to their head on Apple (AAPL - commentary - Cramer's Take). I like it, period. ..Opportunity knocking again in energy; wait until day three and buy. That's worked time and again. ..Gold's too low. I am stocking up.

ALL JIM CRAMER BLOG ENTRIES | POST A COMMENT | READ COMMENTS  

---

At the time of publication, Cramer was long SGP and SHLD.

Jim Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. Outside contributing columnists for TheStreet.com and RealMoney.com, including Cramer, may, from time to time, write about stocks in which they have a position. In such cases, appropriate disclosure is made. To see his personal portfolio and find out what trades Cramer will make before he makes them, sign up for Action Alerts PLUS. Watch Cramer on "Mad Money" weeknights on CNBC. To order Cramer's newest book -- "Jim Cramer's Stay Mad for Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer)," click here. Click here to order "Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich," click here to order "Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World," click here to get "You Got Screwed!" and click here for Cramer's autobiography, "Confessions of a Street Addict." While he cannot provide personalized investment advice or recommendations, he appreciates your feedback and invites you to send comments by clicking here.

TheStreet.com has a revenue-sharing relationship with Amazon.com under which it receives a portion of the revenue from Amazon.com purchases by customers directed there from TheStreet.com.