3. What started the decision-making process that led to the overhaul of Walmart’s U.S. stores? What common errors in decision-making could thwart the success of Project Impact? Walmart Part Three: Planning Extreme Makeover: Walmart Edition After years of putting on a yellow happy face and dressing in familiar blue smocks, Walmart stores are getting an extreme makeover. For millions of Walmart customers who’ve witnessed the big reveal at grand reopenings across the country, the changes are dramatic. Store aisles are wider, and the new color palette is vibrant. Assortments are tidy, and merchandise is marked with bigger, bolder signage. Towering shelves are gone, and so are associates’ old blue smocks.

The unveiling of Walmart’s next-generation stores is part of a strategic plan dubbed “Project Impact.” Announced in 2008, the nationwide remodeling effort aims to improve the Walmart shopping experience and increase sales. According to the project’s rollout schedule, 70 percent of U.S, stores will undergo an upgrade by the end of 2012; the remaining renovations will wrap up in 2014.

Project Impact was an idea born of the recent financial crisis. As the U.S, economy sagged, higher-income consumers began shopping Walmart to take advantage of low prices. The influx of more affluent customers hastened the push to revamp stores, and management concluded that better atmospherics could transform economy-conscious visitors into loyal Walmart customers.

The opportunity set off a flurry of planning, and Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman of Walmart stores, took charge of the initiative