Q: Why is technology an issue?

A: Because retailers have been so late to the game. That's the underlying story at Saks [SKS]. They have invested a lot in technology. So has J.C. Penney [JCP], which has spent a lot of time on cycle-time reduction. And there's Home Depot, which is upgrading its technology. That's the common thread in terms of the retailers we have Buys on. Consistent with this theme, Nordstrom [JWN] did a major technology implementation in 2004, and now they have some of the best inventory turns in my coverage universe.

I like the J.C. Penney (JCP) dip and I notice the incredible action in Kohl's (KSS) and Target (TGT) and wish they were down. They are such tells for the turn, especially Kohl's, which is almost at its high. Reduced inventories more than make up for reduced sales.

In an Aug. 6 blog post, Cramer wrote that the media had prematurely predicted a poor back-to-school season for retailers such as Macy's, Target (TGT), Gap (GPS) and JCPenney (JCP). "Back-to-school is looking very big," he wrote, "and given the low inventories, the cash flow could be tremendous here."

That means you can make a lot more money on the oil-user side: retail like Kohls (KSS), J.C. Penney's (JCP) and Macy's (M); restaurants like Brinker (EAT) and Darden (DRI); apparel like Jones (JNY), VF Corp. (VFC) and Nike (NKE); as well as anything that goes into Best Buy (BBY).

"TGT has lagged the other names in the group: Kohl's (KSS) is up 28%, Macy's (M) is up 21%, JC Penney (JCP) has climbed 48% and Nordstrom (JWN) has rallied an astounding 56%." "Retail Is a Microcosm of the Broad Market," 6-15-09

With that in mind, Cramer said he wasn't going to formulate a view on retail based on JC Penney's (JCP) earnings report today. "I look at something like what JC Penney says, and I can't make that determination," he said. ("Stop Trading!," 5-15-09)

"Of course, that means it was all the expectations game. The other guys had taken down expectations to the point that their horrid numbers looked good, especially Nordstrom's (JWN), but Kohl's (KSS) and J.C. Penney (JCP) weren't so hot either. Abercrombie's (ANF) were terrible, the worst I have seen, but you could never lower them enough!" ("Retail = No Sale," 4-9-09)

Cramer: 50% Retracement: Jim Cramer sees a 50% pullback, but still thinks that the overbought levels were a positive long term sign. Real Money TV viewers get Cramer's videos first and commercial free!
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JC Penney (JCP), Kohl's (KSS) and Sears (SHLD) are making people feel that Wal-Mart (WMT) is aberrant, so does the action in Costco Wholesale (COST). You have to like that not all retail is down. This move surprises me.

But you find your favorite tech that hasn't moved much -- we like Qualcomm (QCOM) and Cisco (CSCO) for Action Alerts PLUS, plus Research In Motion's (RIMM) right because of new products -- and you buy a mortgage play -- Wells Fargo (WFC)? -- and you can buy a down-and-dirty retailer that you have faith in, but hold your nose. I can get with Best Buy (BBY), and I like the yield support of JC Penney (JCP). You can buy deep-in-the-money calls for MasterCard (MA) -- remember, it did report a fantastic number.

retail doldrums

consumers are dwindling

Recession.

I bought this stock recently to see if it would catch some of this stimulation money with the RL team up catalyst. The dude abides on this one.

when retail moves up this one is ready to do well

A hot tamale that Cramer was very high on but the stock has languished since November.