Assignment 6 described how P&G was considering introducing a new version of its Tide laundry detergent ("Fundamental") to appeal to mid-tier price shoppers in the product category. Suppose now that the decision is to launch this new version of Tide. Based on your understanding of the distribution channel for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), how do you think Tide Fundamental will be received by retailers? If you believe retailers will welcome the new product, briefly explain why you think this will be the case. If you believe retailers will not welcome the new product, briefly explain why you think this will be the case. Begin your answer with either "welcome" or "not welcome."

Shortly after the end of the WW II, Procter & Gamble introduced Tide laundry detergent, targeted specifically at owners of automatic clothes washers. Then, as now, Tide was positioned as offering superior cleaning performance, with a superior price to match. Its success (it became the No. 1 detergent in the U.S.) led to P&G's development of many more brands, such as Mr. Clean and Crest, each promising superior performance because of superior ingredients. Today, with a large portfolio of such premium brands, P&G's revenue have reached more than $60 million per year, with regular increases seen each year. However, the COVID recession has caused revenue to decline as consumers have become more price conscious. These fiscally cautious consumers are bypassing premium brands in favor of cheaper versions of products, in particular, store brands (e.g., Costco's Kirkland Signature). As a result, P&G decided to develop a new "mid-tier" product (brands like Tide are described as "top tier" and budget brands as "bottom tier"). The product is Tide "Fundamental," which is targeted at mid-tier shoppers. According to P&G, the new brand is designed to have a level of cleaning and freshness for mid-tier consumers. To differentiate it from regular Tide, Fundamental will have a different color than the traditional orange packaging of Tide. P&G hopes to keep most of its Tide users loyal to the usual higher priced version, which typically sells for $11.99 and has a $5.00 unit contribution. In contrast, the price of Fundamental will be $8.99, with a unit contribution of $2.50 (the cost of production is lower for Fundamental because it has lower-cost ingredients than Tide). The substantially lower contribution of Fundamental is concerning to some of the P&G management team, who believe introducing it will negatively impact P&G's revenues. However, other members of the management team feel launching the new brand will actually improve P&G's revenues. Assume that the CEO of P&G has approached you, a marketing expert, to help them make th decision. Based on your analysis of the situation, what do you recommend P&G do? If you recommend launching Fundamental, begin your answer with Launch, and briefly but clearly explain why your recommended approach is superior to the alternative. If you recommend not launching, begin your answer with Not Launch and briefly but clearly explain why your recommended approach is superior to the alternative. (Limit your recommendation to the actual decision to launch or not. In other words, do not recommend changes in the price or packaging, etc.)