FreightWaves by Mark Solomon
Walmart Inc. said Tuesday that it has canceled billions of dollars in orders as part of a continued effort to align inventory levels with projected demand and to reduce its exposure to certain products that have fallen out of favor with budget-conscious consumers.
The nation’s largest retailer (NYSE: WMT) said its U.S. division reported a 26% increase in fiscal second-quarter 2023 inventory levels compared with the same period in fiscal 2022. This was a 750-basis-point improvement over a nightmarish fiscal 2023 first quarter when Walmart got blindsided by a combination of rapidly rising costs and a mix of higher-end inventory that was passed over by consumers coping with rapidly rising inflation.
Walmart executives said the company has cleared out most of its summer seasonal inventory ahead of the back-to-school season — which has begun in large parts of the South — and the upcoming holiday period. Executives said the company is making progress right-sizing its inventories, but that it will take at least a couple more quarters to wring the imbalances out of its network…
