August 30, 2017 Wednesday (Lunar July 9) Today's FMCG Morning Report NEWS 1F Top News Most "Well-known companies registering copycat brands is a helpless move" Recently, online reports claim that many companies have "copycatted" themselves in trademark registrations. White Rabbit has registered over a dozen similar trademarks, including Big Grey Rabbit, Big Black Rabbit, Big Flower Rabbit... Alibaba has registered "Ali Dad, Ali Mom, Ali Sister..." Laoganma has registered "Laogan Dad, Laogan Dad, Adopted Son, Adopted Daughter..." In addition, Wuliangye has also preemptively registered "Six Grains Liquid, Seven Grains Liquid, Eight Grains Liquid, Thousand Grains Liquid" and others. Yuan Lai's Brief Comment After reading this news, many people might laugh, laughing at these well-known companies for registering a bunch of messy trademarks they will never use, or perhaps laughing at their boring actions. But I see the "sadness" behind it. I believe these companies have no choice. A company builds a brand to become well-known, even household, through countless twists and hardships, only to have unscrupulous merchants "cut corners" and do business with "crooked ideas." It is truly laughable and truly sad. 2F Today's Headlines 1 Bright Dairy H1 Revenue 10.923 Billion Yuan, Achieving Double Growth! On August 29, Bright Dairy & Food Co., Ltd. released its 2017 H1 performance report. The report shows that the company achieved operating revenue of 10.923 billion yuan, up 6.36% year-on-year; net profit attributable to listed company shareholders was 366 million yuan, up 52.17% year-on-year. Bright Dairy stated that in H1, the company strengthened expense control, consolidated channels, optimized product structure, and other management measures to improve quality and efficiency. 2 Lianhua Supermarket H1 Loss of 4.82 Million, Closed 138 Stores On August 29, Lianhua Supermarket released its 2017 H1 financial report. The report shows that Lianhua Supermarket achieved turnover of approximately 13.238 billion yuan, down about 6.0% year-on-year; same-store sales fell about 3.8% year-on-year, with hypermarket format down about 3.67%, supermarket format down about 3.6%, and convenience store format down about 5.71%. Lianhua Supermarket, formerly Lianhua Commercial, owns brands including "Century Lianhua, Lianhua Supermarket, Hualian Supermarket, Quick Mart, and Yinggongfang Cosmetics Store." 3 Haidilao Problem Exposed, but Stock Price Still Rises 2.45% August 28 was the first trading day after Haidilao's kitchen rat problem was exposed, but Yihai International, controlled by Haidilao founder Zhang Yong and his wife, still saw its stock price rise 2.45% to HK$4.60 per share. Yihai International is Haidilao's hot pot base supplier, formerly Haidilao's Chengdu branch. Haidilao founder Zhang Yong and his wife are its actual controllers, holding 35.59% of shares. 4 Huishan Dairy Restructuring Plan Opposed by Banks/Individual Investors According to media reports on August 29, Huishan Dairy's preliminary restructuring plan was opposed by banks and individual investors. Several banks, led by Bank of China as chairman of the creditors' committee, disagreed with the preliminary plan that would keep Yang Kai as actual controller. Additionally, 189 qualified individual investors submitted written protest letters. It is reported that in September 2013, Huishan Dairy was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with a market value of nearly HK$40 billion on the first day, ranking among the top three overseas-listed Chinese dairy companies. 5 On First Day After Acquisition, Amazon Cuts Whole Foods Prices by Up to 43% According to Bloomberg News on August 29 Beijing time, global e-commerce giant Amazon cut prices on Whole Foods products by up to 43% on the first day after completing its acquisition. Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods is expected to disrupt the way consumers buy groceries, vowing to compete with low-price rivals like Walmart and Costco. 6 People's Daily: China's Economy Continues to Improve Steadily According to People's Daily, July's main economic data have been released. Although industry, investment, consumption, and exports slowed to some extent, the overall performance of the national economy remained stable and improving. Employment and prices remained stable, supply-side structural reforms showed results, and transformation and upgrading with momentum shift accelerated. The economy is developing steadily with progress. 7 Yanghe and Gujing "Poach" Each Other, Close Combat! Recently, news of mutual product replacement and "poaching" in the terminal market has made the "open and covert struggle" between Yanghe and Gujing Gongjiu a focus of attention. Although Yanghe denies this, the "close combat" between the two liquor companies in regional markets reveals the "new normal" of competition in the baijiu industry. Industry analysts believe that severe product homogeneity and strong substitutability are the main reasons for the vicious competition between Yanghe and Gujing, behind which is the fierce melee caused by first-tier brands moving down and regional brands going national. Market share in baijiu is concentrating toward strong brands, and vicious competition like Yanghe and Gujing poaching each other will continue to emerge. 3F Today's Weather Due to reduced scope and intensity of rainstorms, the blue rainstorm warning has been lifted. However, from 20:00 on August 29 to 20:00 on August 30, parts of southern Guangxi, western Yunnan, southern Sichuan and central-eastern Sichuan Basin, western Chongqing, southern Shaanxi and Guanzhong Plain, central-northern Henan, southern Shandong, and northern Jiangsu and Anhui will still see heavy rain, with local rainstorms. Some areas in northern Sichuan Basin will see heavy rainstorms (100-120 mm). These areas will experience short-duration heavy rainfall, with maximum hourly rainfall intensity of 30-60 mm. 4F Today's Tips Friends in the FMCG industry: If you think our revamp is good, please give us a like and encouragement, and share it with fellow FMCG people! Thank you for your support! -END-