As the East Coast digs itself out of one of the worst blizzards in recent history, Jim Cramer decided to take another look at retail and see if investor portfolios could take advantage of the cold weather.
For months, many retailers have been hit hard because the weather has been so warm that they could not get rid of their winter apparel.
“Is there a decent way to play winter storm Jonas, or is it merely a huge pain in the neck that may have ruined your weekend?” the “Mad Money” host asked.
Typically Cramer would recommend Home Depot because it sells shovels, but now he thinks it has become too big to be pigeonholed. He also thinks Deckers, the maker of UGG boots, has become too unreliable, and snowmobile company Polaris has been crushed by Japanese competition.
“If you want to play winter storm Jonas, I think Columbia Sportswear is the way to do it.”
That left Cramer with Columbia Sportswear, the family run-company that is practically a one-stop-shop for winter gear. It houses various brands such as Montrail, Mountain Hardware, PrAna sustainable yoga and climbing apparel, Sorel boots and its main Columbia brand.
Columbia Sportswear is due to report earnings on Feb. 10, and Cramer does not expect anything spectacular.
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“But the thing about the stock market is that it’s a forecasting machine, which means if investors now believe that this cold weather is here to stay, then they will probably think that Columbia’s next quarter could turn out to be a lot better than they had been anticipating,” Cramer said.
Cramer also suspects that investors may not be aware of Columbia’s major transformation. No longer is Columbia just a place to pick up a new jacket for the blizzard. It has also introduced fashionable brands that can be worn year round.
So while the upcoming earnings release will be all about the holidays, and not the sudden change in cold weather, Cramer thinks the recent blizzard could be a game changer. Columbia has a history of outperforming its competitors, and it could happen again.
“If you want to play winter storm Jonas, I think Columbia Sportswear is the way to do it,” Cramer said. (Tweet This)
Cramer recommended for investors to put a small position before the company reports, and then buy more into weakness. Especially since the quarter it is about to report won’t reflect any of the new-found winter blizzard positives.
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