Walmart Cuts Orders From Suppliers Because Sales Are Falling Short -- REPORT

Wal-Mart is ordering less merchandise from suppliers because unsold merchandise is piling up in stores.

An ordering manager sent an email to a supplier saying that the company was trying to reduce inventory in the second half of the year, reports Renee Dudley at Bloomberg News.

Other suppliers got similar messages, she writes.

Wal-Mart's inventory is well above their goal," Poonam Goyal, an analyst at Bloomberg Industries, told Dudley. "Most of the inventory increase was because of missed sales."

The company's shares are down on the news.