---
title: "Beer Legend Steps Down: Hou Xiaohai Resigns as Chairman of China Resources Beer"
description: "On the afternoon of June 27, China Resources Beer (00291) announced that Mr. Hou Xiaohai has resigned as executive director and chairman of the board to devote more time to personal arrangements. The chairman position will remain vacant until a suitable successor is appointed, with Mr. Zhao Chunwu, executive director and president, temporarily assuming the chairman's duties during the transition."
author: "陈思廷"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2025-06-27"
categories: "Consumer & Categories"
language: "en"
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original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Y4OqzNo8t6Ikuf9jSZmmNA"
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citation: "陈思廷. “Beer Legend Steps Down: Hou Xiaohai Resigns as Chairman of China Resources Beer.” New Distribution, 2025-06-27. https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/beer-legend-steps-down-hou-xiaohai-resigns-as-chairman-of-china-resource-a1cced62/"
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---

# Beer Legend Steps Down: Hou Xiaohai Resigns as Chairman of China Resources Beer

> On the afternoon of June 27, China Resources Beer (00291) announced that Mr. Hou Xiaohai has resigned as executive director and chairman of the board to devote more time to personal arrangements. The chairman position will remain vacant until a suitable successor is appointed, with Mr. Zhao Chunwu, executive director and president, temporarily assuming the chairman's duties during the transition.

On the afternoon of June 27, China Resources Beer (00291) announced that Mr. Hou Xiaohai has decided to resign as executive director and chairman of the board to devote more time to personal arrangements, and will no longer serve as chairman of the Finance Committee, or as a member of the Executive Committee and the Share Option Committee. Following Mr. Hou's resignation, the chairman position will remain vacant until a suitable successor is appointed. Mr. Zhao Chunwu, executive director and president, will temporarily assume the chairman's duties and responsibilities during the transition.

For practitioners and researchers in China's beer industry, Hou Xiaohai is an unavoidable figure. Since joining China Resources Snow Breweries in 2001 through social recruitment, Hou has participated in or led all stages and key milestones of the company's development, from its inception and growth to becoming the national number one, and then to high-quality development.

During the nine years Hou served as chairman and CEO of China Resources Beer, the company's sales revenue grew by over 10 billion yuan, sales of premium and above beers increased by over 2 million kiloliters, and net profit soared from 1.329 billion yuan in 2015 to 4.759 billion yuan in 2024.

Importantly, in 2024, the proportion of mid-range and above beer sales exceeded 50% for the first time, with gross margin reaching 42.6%, a five-year high, making China Resources Beer a leader in China's premium beer market.

Today, China Resources Beer is undeniably the leader in China's beer industry in terms of scale, profit, and premium development. As a key participant in the company's early days and the architect of its current glory, Hou Xiaohai is a true legend in China's beer industry.

**Defeating Foreign Brands on Their Home Turf of Premium Beer**

In 2016, when Hou Xiaohai became general manager and CEO of China Resources Beer through open competition, China's beer industry, especially domestic brands, was at a critical turning point—the dividends of scale expansion had peaked, and premiumization was emerging but lacked confidence.

In the premium market, foreign brands like Budweiser held over 50% market share, firmly dominating. At that time, China Resources Beer was already the industry leader in scale but had long lingered in low-price, low-profit territory, with premium products accounting for less than 5%. The stereotype that "domestic beer equals low price" was deeply entrenched.

Upon taking office, Hou made the strategic judgment that "China's beer industry has entered a new era" and proposed the strategic goal of "China Resources Beer to be the leader of the new beer era."

Since then, China Resources Beer has embarked on a journey from being the "sales champion" of Chinese beer to the "profit champion" and "brand champion."

In 2016, Hou quickly proposed the "3+3+3" premiumization development strategy.

He divided the premiumization development into three stages, each lasting three years:

> The first three years (2017-2019): shed burdens, strengthen foundations, optimize capacity and reorganize the organization;
>
> The second three years (2020-2022): quality development, consolidate the premium foundation;
>
> The third three years (2023-2025): win the premium market, reshape the premium beer market landscape in China.

In the entire industry, this was a bold and almost unbelievable strategic goal. Remember, in 2016, China's beer industry, after three consecutive years of declining production and sales, was mired in overcapacity, intensifying price wars, and sharply declining profits.

And as the company with the largest sales volume but the lowest price per ton and lowest profit margin among the top three, China Resources Beer proposed a "premium wins" strategy, which even its own management found somewhat "fanciful."

By the end of the first three-year strategy period of "shedding burdens and strengthening foundations," China Resources Beer had the organizational, ideological, and operational capability to attack the premium market, but the momentum of premium brands is hard to build in the short term.

At this point, Hou innovatively proposed the path of "Chinese brands + international brands" to break into the premium market. In the FMCG sector, Chinese brands have always been targets for foreign acquisitions; we have rarely seen cases of Chinese brands reverse-acquiring foreign brands.

In 2019, Hou led a strategic cooperation with Heineken, a global premium beer giant, acquiring Heineken's China business, making it the largest Sino-foreign beer capital operation in Asia to date.

With Heineken's brand power in the premium market, China Resources Beer, with the strongest beer network, quickly entered the premium market. While Heineken continued to grow rapidly, its own Snow brands, including "Jiangxin Yingzao," "Brave the World SuperX," "Mars Green," and "Old Snow," also sustained high growth. This created a situation where "Chinese brands + international brands" empowered each other and soared together in the premium market.

Moreover, China Resources Beer broke through the value ceiling of the beer industry by innovatively launching ultra-premium products "Li" and "Nong Li." These products benchmark international quality with traditional Chinese brewing culture and wisdom, breaking the inherent perception that "ultra-premium beer can only be imported brands."

Image source: China Resources Beer official website

In 2024, China Resources Beer completed its "3+3+3" premiumization strategy one year ahead of schedule, with sales and net profit indicators leading China's beer industry, especially as mid-range and above beer sales proportion exceeded 50% for the first time. China Resources Beer comprehensively surpassed major competitors in scale, profit, and premium market growth.

Under Hou's leadership, China Resources Beer achieved that "fanciful" strategic goal in less than nine years—successfully transforming from a laggard, chaser, and follower in China's premium beer market to a surpasser and leader.

**Two Decades of Mutual Achievement: China Resources Beer and Hou Xiaohai**

China Resources Beer started in Shenyang in 1993 and began its true national expansion around 2000. In 2001, Hou Xiaohai joined the company, beginning more than two decades of mutual achievement.

At China Resources Beer, Hou experienced every important historical milestone and made unique and significant contributions.

**1. Startup and M&A Period (2001-2007): Laying the National Gene**

In 2001, China's beer industry was in the midst of a merger and acquisition wave, and China Resources Snow Breweries was still in its infancy. After joining, Hou was responsible for distribution and brand management, deeply involved in building the national Snow brand.

In 2005, he first proposed making "Brave the World" a national promotional campaign for Snow Beer and led the implementation of the Brave the World exploration of the Yarlung Zangbo River, becoming the first original, theme-clear, nationally participated beer promotional activity in the industry.

In 2006, he created the "Non-Olympic Marketing Theory," leveraging the Olympics to make Snow Beer a benchmark brand for non-Olympic marketing, helping Snow achieve the number one sales volume in China in 2006.

During this phase, Hou used marketing innovation to break down the marketing barriers of foreign brands, injecting the "national brand" gene into China Resources Snow Breweries.

**2. Regional Deep Cultivation Period (2008-2015): From Scale Expansion to Quality Foundation**

After 2008, China's beer industry entered the deep water of consolidation, and China Resources Beer shifted from "expanding scale" to "optimizing regions." Hou was transferred to Guizhou and Sichuan markets as regional general manager.

In Guizhou, he established the organizational culture and business management foundation for the base market. In Sichuan, he restored Snow Beer to a 70% local market share, with profits ranking first among all regional companies of China Resources Beer.

During this period, Hou demonstrated exceptional regional market management skills—through refined channel management and regional brand penetration, he upgraded China Resources Beer from "national scale champion" to "regional profit champion," accumulating channel operation experience for future premiumization.

**3. Strategic Transformation Period (2016-2025): Leading China's Beer Value Revolution**

In 2016, when he took over overall management, Hou faced two industry-wide challenges: the "scale ceiling" and the "premiumization dilemma."

Facing the dilemma, with extraordinary courage, he initiated the "Ten Strategic Reforms" transformation of China Resources Beer:

Organizationally, he implemented the separation of production and sales and established the Chengdu Shared Center; in capacity, he optimized and eliminated inefficient factories, focusing on core production areas; in branding, he restructured price bands, cutting over 30 low-end SKUs and focusing on the golden price band of 8-15 yuan...

In 2021, he led China Resources Beer into the baijiu (white liquor) industry, and in 2022, he took control of Jinsha Distillery, opening new growth space for the company, creating a second growth curve through "beer and baijiu dual empowerment."

In 2024, China Resources Beer's baijiu business revenue reached 2.149 billion yuan, with the high-end single product "Zhaiyao" growing 35% against the trend.

Over more than two decades, China's beer industry has evolved from wild growth to stock competition, from low-price chaos to value upgrading. Hou's career has always been in sync with industry changes and shared the fate of China Resources Beer.

He witnessed the company's transformation from a local brand to an industry leader, and defined the development path of China's beer industry through three key transformations (M&A integration, regional deep cultivation, and premiumization). As industry commentators have said, "Hou Xiaohai made every step of China Resources Beer at critical moments land on the nodes of industry change."

**From Business Leader to Founder of New Business Thought**

Hou's industry influence extends beyond reshaping China's premium beer market to building a new-era business theory system. These innovative concepts, derived from practice, are becoming important methodologies for Chinese FMCG enterprises in their transformation during special periods.

**1. "New World Theory" Guiding the Direction of China's FMCG Industry Transformation**

In 2021, Hou proposed the "Beer New World," pointing out that the beer industry is shifting to value competition. In 2022, it extended to the "Baijiu New World," emphasizing youth-oriented transformation. In 2023, it upgraded to the "Consumer New World," calling for industrial ecosystem synergy.

The "New World Theory" system, proposed and continuously developed by Hou, not only helped China Resources Beer break through the dilemma of the beer stock era, subverting and reconstructing China's premium beer market landscape, but is also helping more and more FMCG companies find the right strategic direction in today's complex market environment.

**2. "Manufacturer-Dealer Community of Shared Destiny": Reconstructing Channel Relationship Paradigm**

In 2024, in response to the development difficulties faced by FMCG distributors, Hou proposed the "Manufacturer-Dealer Community of Shared Destiny," using "Nine Concepts" to reconstruct channel logic and reshape new manufacturer-dealer relationships.

Through national key account symposiums and the "Three Runs" key account partner platform, China Resources Beer achieved healthy inventory turnover in the second half of 2024. This reduced the operational pressure on distributors and laid the foundation for continued growth in 2025.

In early 2025, when the beer industry continued to slump, China Resources Beer bucked the trend to hit record profits. This was thanks to the "Manufacturer-Dealer Community of Shared Destiny" model, which successfully transformed the traditional game relationship between manufacturers and dealers into a community of shared interests and destiny.

We also see more and more FMCG companies learning, introducing, and applying China Resources Beer's "Manufacturer-Dealer Community of Shared Destiny" thinking and model in 2025.

**3. "Beer and Baijiu Dual Empowerment": A Related Diversification Cross-Border Business Experiment**

In 2022, China Resources Beer took control of Jinsha Distillery, launching the "Beer and Baijiu Dual Empowerment" strategy, opening new imagination space for the company's future sustained growth.

The "Beer and Baijiu Dual Empowerment" strategy is a related diversification cross-border business experiment. With "organizational connection and channel sharing" at its core, it achieves "dual empowerment of beer and baijiu, and mutual growth of both." It leverages the beer business's strong channel partner system and terminal network resources to empower the baijiu business, and uses baijiu brands and products to expand the operating categories of channel partners and enhance terminal control.

Moreover, Hou has summarized a complete set of strategies and tactics from practice, such as the "Momentum Theory" establishing China Resources Beer's premium confidence, "Five Points One Line" as the terminal operation method for premium products, and "25 Premium Strategies" as the guiding ideology and methodology for effectively operating premium products.

It is precisely because of his insights and outstanding contributions in business management practice and thought that Hou has received numerous honors:

> In 2023, he received the "Annual Industry Leader" from China Newsweek;
>
> In 2024, he was named "China Economic News Person of the Year," and also received the "Leaders50 Global Business Leader" from Thinkers50;
>
> He was named "Best CEO" for the seventh consecutive year in the "2024 Asia (ex-Japan) Executive Team" ranking by Institutional Investor;
>
> In March 2025, he received Forbes' "China Consumer Annual Outstanding CEO."

This series of new business thoughts summarized by Hou constitutes a "competitive strategy and thought framework for the era of transformation" for China's FMCG industry, and is becoming public knowledge wealth for China's consumer goods industry.

**A Man Who Changed China's Beer Industry**

A legendary figure is often the epitome and embodiment of an era. Hou Xiaohai's more than two decades at China Resources Beer is a history of the evolution of China's beer industry.

His success was no accident—in the corporate culture of "pragmatism, innovation, and collaboration" at China Resources Beer, he seized three historic opportunities for industry change with strategic foresight, creating the company's leadership position in the new world.

For China Resources Beer, Hou leaves behind not only impressive financial data—38.635 billion yuan in revenue and 4.759 billion yuan in net profit in 2024—but more importantly, a sustainable development system: a premium brand matrix, a digitalized channel network, a "beer and baijiu dual-wheel" business structure, and an innovative culture and winning spirit guided by the "New World Theory."

Also, the several organizational restructurings and talent development projects he promoted during his tenure have enabled China Resources Beer to form a tiered management team, ensuring strategic continuity.

For China's beer industry, Hou's greatest contribution lies in rewriting the fate of Chinese beer brands in the premium market through practice and results—he proved with "Li" that domestic beer can challenge international premium, reconstructed the channel ecosystem with the "Manufacturer-Dealer Community of Shared Destiny," and opened diversified paths with "Beer and Baijiu Dual Empowerment."

These practices not only made China Resources Beer an industry benchmark but also stripped the "low-price" label from "Chinese beer," giving it confidence to participate in value competition in the global beer market.

It is understood that Hou has been working away from home for nearly two decades, and with his elderly parents at home, he wishes to spend more time with his family. Behind this warmth is the calm of a business leader who has achieved success and retired gracefully. But the business thought and corporate transformation he leaves behind will continue to influence China Resources Beer and the direction of China's beer industry for a long time to come.

The progress of an industry often requires the impetus of iconic figures. Hou Xiaohai used more than two decades to turn China Resources Beer from "China's Snow" into "the world's Snow," and made himself an unavoidable legend in the history of China's beer industry.

As the era of scale expansion fades, Hou's strategic thought and China Resources Beer's premium development experience have not only shaped the fate of China Resources Beer but also changed the fate of domestic beer brands, and may in the future guide more Chinese FMCG enterprises onto the right path of quality growth.


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## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: 陈思廷
- Published: 2025-06-27
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/beer-legend-steps-down-hou-xiaohai-resigns-as-chairman-of-china-resource-a1cced62/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Y4OqzNo8t6Ikuf9jSZmmNA

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