Don’t be Stubborn... Retail is NOT Dead

I was a big pusher the last five years of the theme ‘Retail is Dead’. I owned Apple and Amazon (I don’t own Amazion at the moment) and that was my retail exposure.

That theme became too hot late last year. Everyone was on that bandwagon.

Gamestop, Radio Shack and Best Buy were sure fire bankruptcies as much as Apple was the only way to do retail…at least according to the momentum side of media. It was a pile on.

That may still be the case, especially for Radio Shack, but not even close for Gamestop and Best Buy ($GME $BBY).

Best Buy and Gamestop have been rocketships since January.

Financially, things may not be improving much, but this is more than just short covering and a bounce at this point.

The big gaming companies and electronic makers will never catch up with or get the proper love from Apple. Google is going to attack retail in their own unique way if not an exact copy of Apple. They can’t afford not to over time.

Amazon, Samsung and the private equity firms and hedge funds that get paid to grow and scavenge are circling retail themselves. Best Buy and Gamestop speeds up everyone’s efforts to play in the new era of repurposed retail.

Driving the prices really fast right now is the extreme negative sentiment. Take a look at how negative traders have been on Stocktwits:

Investors just expected these to die and they have not. Now that the stocks are up so much they think the stocks are an even better short opportunity. They just might be, but something has changed. If you are a small investor, I think there are a lot less crowded ways to make a buck.

WRT Radio Shack… locations are just too bleak for anyone is my guess, but I don’t see why anyone needs to lean against it here.