By 2005, sales continued to drop; Ace slipped to fourth and then fifth in market share. Some
people continued to believe Básico was the only hope, but had no agreement to try it. Eventually after
market share continued to fall, the regional and local teams agreed to launch an Ace Básico in the
Northeast. The launch would be limited and risks were low since P&G’s laundry share in the region
had dipped below 10%. At least the pilot would provide the team with learnings.