Jim Cramer's Rant On Retailers

Jim Cramer isn't a fan of the retail sector, especially on a day like Thursday when shares of Nordstrom, Inc. JWN, Macy's Inc M, J C Penney Company Inc JCP and other retailers were trading in the red.

Cramer pointed out during his daily "Stop Trading" segment even though Macy's is reportedly in talks to sell itself, investors aren't bullish as Macy's fundamentals continue to decline. As such, the price tag on any deal will now be lower than previously expected.

Cramer also suggested stores are suffering from a lack of traffic that existed years ago. It's not that consumers aren't spending money but they're spending money elsewhere, either through online companies like Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN.

Disturbing Fact About Retail Stocks

Carl Quintanilla noted one quarter of the S&P 500 stocks are trading at a lower price today than they were on January 20, 2017, yet the index continues to flirt with new all-time highs.

It isn't surprising the largest laggards among the underperforming stocks are retail related. The largest underperformer is Under Armour Inc UAA UA, but other notable names in the group include Ralph Lauren Corp RL and Mattel, Inc. MAT.

"These are no place to be," Cramer said in reference to retailers that are overexposed to the shopping mall. "We are in a bifurcated market and if you are reliant on the consumer... the consumer is going to Amazon, staying home, playing video games, using their iPhone... that's where the money went... it did not go to the stores. It's dreadful. Those stocks are dreadful."