CNBC's Jim Cramer on Friday said retail stocks have performed well during the holiday season so far, and the strength of consumer spending in November may have taken retailers and many on Wall Street by surprise.
"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and the news from the most important front, retail, indicates it's the most wonderful time of the year for business, not to mention the most beaten down stocks in the entire market," he said.
He pointed to stock moves this week from several popular retailers, including Victoria's Secret and PVH, the parent company of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. The lingerie maker's less-than-ideal earnings report sent its stock down, but it quickly recovered once its CEO announced that November sales saw "the best monthly performance in two years." PVH also reported a disappointing quarter that hurt its stock, Cramer said. But the company's shares saw gains once management indicated that inventory was in good shape, and it had beat its growth plans in North America and Europe during Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
Ulta Beauty also indicated the holiday season was off to a good start when it reported earnings Thursday night, projecting little hesitation about its performance during Christmas, Cramer said. Ulta's stock was up almost 11% by Friday's close.
Cramer said Foot Locker's stock also roared this week after its CEO announced solid traffic during Thanksgiving, with customers willing to pay full price for merchandise. He added that the company's stock had previously been crushed by the "highly promotional pricing" needed to clear out excess inventory.
"The consumer isn't cash strapped. The consumer's healthy. I think it's not too early to reach a conclusion: we may, once again, be seeing growth without inflation," Cramer said. "That means a business as usual holiday quarter, which, frankly, feels incredibly unusual and very positive."
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