For those looking to find strong Consumer Discretionary stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. lululemon athletica (LULU) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of LULU and the rest of the Consumer Discretionary group's stocks.lululemon athletica is one of 250 individual stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. LULU is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LULU's full-year earnings has moved 1.81% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.Our latest available data shows that LULU has returned about 17.76% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Discretionary sector has returned an average of 10.96% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that lululemon athletica is outperforming its peers so far this year.Looking more specifically, LULU belongs to the Textile - Apparel industry, a group that includes 22 individual stocks and currently sits at #99 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 16.92% this year, meaning that LULU is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.Investors in the Consumer Discretionary sector will want to keep a close eye on LULU as it attempts to continue its solid performance.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report lululemon athletica inc. (LULU): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.