Target Is Better Than Macy's, Says Jim Cramer

Target Corporation TGT's better-than-expected earnings report helped boost the stock by more than 8 percent.

Although the stock has given back some of the gains, it's still notably higher at a time when the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by more than 200 points.

CNBC's Jim Cramer talked about the many positive aspects of Target's earnings report during Wednesday's "Squawk on the Street" with an emphasis on why it's unfair to put Target in the same group as a retailer like Macy's Inc M.

First up, Cramer attributed the best performance in electronics in three years to the Nintendo Switch. While this may not necessarily come as a surprise to many investors who were assuming strong demand for the video game console, strength in Target's apparel segment may be a surprise to some.

At a time when apparel sales is under pressure across nearly every retailer, Cramer noted Target's apparel performed well in the quarter. He suggested Target is seeing success at a time when others are failing due to a superior merchandising plan led by its CMO Mark Tritton.

Target Is 'Clearly' No Macy's

Despite many positive aspects of Target's business, Cramer suggested investors are treating the stock as being in the same category as Macy's Inc M. In fact, Cramer thinks Target is "clearly" better than Macy's, especially in apparel.

"They have made some improvements. I don't want to go nuts, but you want to distinguish between some of these retailers that did better and some of them that did worse," Cramer emphasized.

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Image: Mike Mozart, Flickr