Faced with the common challenges of a deep adjustment period in the liquor industry, Moutai has ultimately delivered a solution for &#34;market-oriented transformation.&#34;
At the national dealer symposium of Guizhou Moutai held on December 28, Chen Hua, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Moutai Group, stated that the primary task of marketing in 2026 is to focus on consumers and promote market-oriented transformation.
The entry point for this transformation is to reduce the burden on channels.
In 2026, Moutai will focus on developing Feitian Moutai, premium Moutai, and aged Moutai as core flagship products, while simultaneously implementing an important reform: discontinuing the distribution model.
In the past, non-standard products such as aged, rare, and premium Moutai were mainly sold through distribution channels. Xiao Zhuqing, Chairman of Wuhan Jingkui Technology Co., Ltd., revealed that provincial sales companies would distribute to agents at 90% of the market suggested retail price.
During the industry's upward phase, these non-standard products helped enhance Moutai's overall ton price and profits. However, in the current market pressure phase, they have become a major area of price inversion, increasing the inventory and profit pressure on dealers.
After canceling distribution, Moutai will no longer wholesale non-standard products to downstream through such channels.
This not only helps dealers escape the predicament of price inversion and reduces their main source of losses but also guides them to shift resources from digesting unsold inventory to truly serving the market and enhancing sales.
As the channel process is shortened, Moutai further consolidates pricing power.
Chen Hua emphasized that in 2026, the goal is to make the market more &#34;stable,&#34; allowing product prices to follow the market, making every effort to prevent price speculation, and ensuring prices are reasonable and expectations are stable.
Price is a barometer reflecting channel inventory and sales conditions.
For Moutai, excessive inventory can easily lead to clearance sales and price inversion, while supply shortages can result in hoarding and price bubbles. In either case, the ultimate damage is to Moutai's own brand and market health.
Chen Hua emphasized that the fundamental purpose of following the market is to promote a balance between quantity and price based on actual market supply and demand. When the product inventory-to-sales ratio is appropriate, the price is relatively reasonable, and when the price is right, specialty stores can become the &#34;first choice&#34; for consumers.
As the shipment volume of non-standard products shrinks, Moutai's product structure will simultaneously revert to a pyramid system with 500ml Feitian Moutai as the &#34;base,&#34; premium and zodiac wines as the &#34;waist,&#34; and aged and cultural wines as the &#34;tip.&#34;
Among them, premium Moutai priced above 2000 yuan will be positioned to meet high-end demand, creating a healthy and sustainable flagship product for channel profits, filling the market gap left by discontinued products such as colored glaze rare items.
For Moutai, the core of market-oriented transformation is the reshaping of growth logic: shifting from reliance on channel expansion to relying on genuine consumer-driven demand.
This will inevitably place new demands on dealers.
In 2026, Moutai will initiate the survival of the fittest and dynamic optimization of channels, encouraging dealers to transform from passive &#34;sitting merchants&#34; to proactive &#34;traveling merchants,&#34; actively exploring real consumption scenarios such as family gatherings, banquets, and friend gatherings.
In terms of channel layout, a number of capable and compliant new e-commerce platforms will gradually be introduced, and offline dealers with conditions will be encouraged to open authorized stores online
Whether it is canceling the distribution of non-standard products or implementing a market-oriented pricing strategy, the fundamental purpose is to encourage distributors to break free from their single profit dependence on Feitian Moutai and shift towards achieving healthy and sustainable profits through a multi-product portfolio, thereby building a long-term mutually beneficial and co-growing channel ecosystem.
For Moutai, which has long enjoyed excess profits, this series of profound adjustments also means that the value distribution pattern of the entire industry chain will undergo a reshaping.
Ouyang Yu, an analyst at Huachuang Securities, pointed out in a research report that against the backdrop of supply contraction, the slowdown in Moutai's report growth may be inevitable. However, considering its important position as a pillar state-owned enterprise in Guizhou, it is expected that future performance will show a &#34;stair-step&#34; adjustment, seeking a dynamic balance between financial performance and market price stability

Moutai sets the tone for 2026: Respect market rules, dealers say goodbye to "lying down to win"