CNBC’s Jim Cramer: Target’s First Quarter Earnings Report ‘Stung’

CNBC’s Jim Cramer, host of “Mad Money,” said in an interview with TheStreet, Inc. that Target’s first quarter earnings report “stung.”

Cramer said he had originally thought Target would be impervious to the effects Amazon has had on retailers and added Target has now “confused itself.”

“I got to fall on my sword here,” Cramer said. “I thought that Target under Brian Cornell had made it so he was less Amazon-able and less worried about the consumer. The mix was not good. Apparel was not good, electronics not good; the guidance — horrendous. You know, we’ve been having such a good earning season … so it really stung. But you know what? I think Costco comes back, I think Walgreens comes back because those are the niches that are doing well. Target’s now a question. And we’re struggling with what to do because the degradation of Target month to month to month has confused themselves. And when a retailer has confused itself, then I can’t help them.”

Target, the sixth-largest U.S. retailer, has been under fire for its bathroom policy. Following the passage of a North Carolina bill that requires people to use restrooms corresponding to their birth gender, Target last month instituted a policy that allows it customers and employees to use the bathroom or fitting room that “corresponds to their gender identity.”

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