---
title: "Mengniu, It's Hard to Say I Love You!"
description: "A former top Mengniu distributor recounts his 18-year partnership with the dairy giant, detailing how initial success and deep loyalty gave way to financial ruin, unresolved debts, and a bitter dispute over promised compensation and support."
author: "老董"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2021-08-12"
language: "en"
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---

# Mengniu, It's Hard to Say I Love You!

> A former top Mengniu distributor recounts his 18-year partnership with the dairy giant, detailing how initial success and deep loyalty gave way to financial ruin, unresolved debts, and a bitter dispute over promised compensation and support.

**Click to read the original text for details**
Source: Dong Zhentang
(ID: Dzhentang)
My name is Dong Zhentang, once the largest distributor for Mengniu, a distributor who once tied his fate tightly to Mengniu. Now, my company's operations and personal life have fallen into dire straits, all closely related to Mengniu. At this moment, I really want to say: Mengniu, it's hard to say I love you!
I have been in the cold food industry for over 30 years, and my love and dedication to this industry may be unimaginable and incomprehensible to others. Eighteen years ago, when Mengniu had just launched its Beijing market, I was fortunate to become one of the first batch of Mengniu distributors.
When I first came into contact with Mengniu's business team, I was deeply impressed by their passion and service awareness towards distributors. From then on, I believed that **following a company like Mengniu, there must be a future.**
In the early days of market launch, we worked with Mengniu's business team to start distributing in winter, taking products to visit every terminal. Since Mengniu ice cream had just been launched and was not recognized by terminals, and it wasn't the selling season, some terminals even said we were crazy for selling ice cream in the middle of winter!
At that time, to open up sales, we used our own products as gifts with Mengniu ice cream and adopted flexible sales methods. If whole boxes didn't sell well, we sold mixed boxes; if mixed boxes didn't work, we sold 10 pieces; if 10 pieces didn't work, we sold 5 pieces... Hard work pays off. **When the ice cream selling season started the next year, almost every terminal had Mengniu products in their freezers, which guided consumers to form consumption habits, and sales increased rapidly.**
At the same time, we also stimulated the sales enthusiasm of other distributors, making Tongzhou District the first district market with sales exceeding 10 million.
Because of my love for Mengniu, my extensive practical experience in business, and my strong market control ability, **in 2008, through a vote by Beijing distributors, my company was fortunate to become the general distributor for the Beijing market, serving Mengniu and Beijing distributors.**
Under the guidance and support of leaders at all levels, we leveraged our own advantages, and under the premise of standardized financial accounting, we provided downstream customers with simple, clear, flexible, and timely settlement of various fees, improving customer satisfaction and stimulating sales enthusiasm.
We invested manpower and resources to actively create a good market order, **restraining and prohibiting bad sales behaviors such as price chaos, achieving a stable market price system, increased distributor profits, and increased company sales.**
At the same time, we organized domestic and international tours for distributors, and each of the over 100 distributors received a set of brand-name suits. Those years were the period of highest satisfaction and loyalty among downstream distributors towards the Mengniu brand, and company sales reached a historical peak.
Because of the deep cooperation with Mengniu, my own growth was rapidly enhanced, and I am very grateful to Mengniu for its leadership and support.
Time entered 2013, and a new regional manager took office. To achieve a good start for performance, we completed the first quarter's tasks, but inventory reached 20 million, twice that of the same period last year.
Before April 10, the regional leader required us to purchase another 8 million. Considering the risk, I did not accept. The regional leader then decided that the company's business team would manage directly through our sales channels, bearing their own profits and losses.
From then on, due to the lack of management experience and different service awareness and perspectives of Mengniu's business team, sales declined rapidly, and leftover problems increased every year. By 2015, sales had dropped by more than 50%.
In 2016, I took over the Beijing suburban market again, signing a task with a 32% year-on-year increase, while the urban area continued to be directly operated by the company, with a task increase of 16% year-on-year.
**When I took over the suburban market, the total cost of leftover problems during Mengniu's operation was over 3.8 million. The company handled 3 million, and I personally subsidized over 800,000, with the purpose of restoring distributors' trust in Mengniu.**
At that time, the market situation was: when brand power and product power were comparable, Mengniu's product sales were only half of the competitor's.
To achieve the goal of quickly delivering Mengniu products to terminals, my company organized the development of a dedicated mobile app. During this period, we invested a lot of manpower, financial resources, and materials to cultivate usage habits among distributors and terminals, **with the aim of timely transmitting and implementing Mengniu brand product information and policies to terminals.**
**Through re-focusing on basic work, in the first 6 months of 2016, we completed the previous year's total sales and increased by 10%.**
At the end of September 2017, to obtain the annual task reward, Mengniu's business team, despite our existing inventory of 9.4 million, still required us to purchase another 3.6 million. Initially, I did not agree, but they came to my home in groups. Later, after communicating with the regional manager, they still insisted on the purchase, and I had no choice but to comply.
At this time, the peak season for ice products had ended, and warehousing a large batch of products undoubtedly increased our warehousing costs and the risk of large-date products.
Through the continuous promotion of "Bingtuan e-Gou" and direct control of terminals, **on June 26, 2018, Mengniu Brand Promotion Day, single-day terminal sales reached 2.42 million, locking in 9.6 million, creating a sales miracle, and also cultivating the habit of terminals selling Mengniu products.** Sales once again almost matched the competitor, and distributors using Bingtuan e-Gou also saw significant sales growth.
The urban area was directly operated by the company, managed with traditional experience, but sales remained almost unchanged, still less than half of the competitor.
At that time, the reason we invested a lot of manpower, financial resources, and materials was to first do the market well and make the brand famous. A century-old Mengniu, century-old customers, I firmly believed that we would be rewarded later! However, things went against our wishes, and what we got in return was the current predicament.
**Cause**: In 2018, during the company's direct operation of the urban area, the tens of millions of funds for the monthly task gap were all raised by us at the leaders' request, with the promise that the company would bear the interest.
In July, senior leaders, in order for the company to complete the national sales task, had us raise funds to stock up, **reaching a maximum inventory of over 74 million.** Most of the funding gap was raised by us from various channels with interest. At the end of the year, the Beijing regional company still had over 40 million in inventory.
In 2019, considering the management ability of the business team and the actual market performance, the company required us to take over the entire Beijing market, **with a task of 175 million, plus over 40 million in inventory, which was very difficult.**
I didn't want to take it over because in 2018, the actual terminal sales in the entire Beijing market were less than 100 million, a huge difference. However, company leaders communicated multiple times, promising to help support Beijing together and that the inventory would be absorbed by the company. Out of loyalty to Mengniu, we finally took over the entire Beijing market.
Because of the large product inventory and the need to complete monthly tasks, the sales rhythm was disrupted in the first few months of the year, causing fees to not be credited in time. So we proposed that the company re-plan the Beijing market.
After hard efforts, the business model was converted. **From May 2019, Mengniu took over the Beijing market through our channels, managing and operating independently with separate accounting.** Based on trust in Mengniu and its business team, after May, during the company's operation, we did not change the various contracts that had been signed and were still valid, and continued to use them.
Because the product inventory was too large, **from May to December 2019, during Mengniu's self-operation, warehousing fees exceeded 8 million, and accumulated logistics fees of over 2 million have not been settled to this day, causing the logistics company to sue our company, leading to the freezing of our company's accounts, which triggered a chain reaction: loans were cut off, houses were auctioned, assets were frozen, the company could not operate normally, employee wages could not be paid normally, and I was personally restricted from high consumption.**
In 2019, Mengniu business personnel took goods worth 980,000 yuan from our company, returning only a small part. Despite repeated demands, it remains unresolved.
Because my business and personal life fell into extreme difficulty, I had to approach Mengniu.
**Through several communications, we reached a consensus: the solution was that Mengniu would handle the credit we owed and the fees owed to customers, and I would advance over 10 million in various fees, with Mengniu promising to compensate through future project operations.**
Considering the difficulty and sincerity of the company in solving the problem, I accepted the company's solution.
The projects Mengniu offered at the time were the operation rights of Mengniu's sub-brand "Yiqing" and the operation rights of Mengniu products in the Tongzhou market. At that time, the regional manager promised to maximize terminal foundation work in Tongzhou, and it was okay not to sign a task, with the purpose of handling leftover problems. However, the actual implementation was not smooth.
First, the Yiqing brand was sold, so the plan could not be executed; second, when the Tongzhou market launched in 2020, Mengniu's regional leaders proposed conditions that required signing a task of 10 million. Due to inconsistent statements, no consensus could be reached, and the plan could not be executed.
(Follow-up: Mengniu directly developed the Tongzhou market, and the customer signed a task of 6.8 million. I am puzzled by this, as the entire Beijing traditional channel only signed 93 million.) Thus, the plan to compensate losses through project operations ultimately failed to be implemented.
**Because employees have only been able to receive partial wages for a long time, seriously affecting their normal lives, and I have no ability to solve it myself.**
In the absence of the aforementioned solution being implemented and no alternative plan being proposed for a long time, on the morning of June 1, 2020, more than 10 employees organized themselves to go to Mengniu to seek a solution. After negotiations, 4 employees were eventually sent as representatives into the factory to communicate with leaders.
By the afternoon, the leaders promised to provide a solution as soon as possible, so the employees returned.
On June 2 and 3, the regional leaders communicated with me, **asking whether we could first implement the previously agreed consensus in part, with the company handling the credit we owed and the fees owed to customers, and then discuss the project with leaders later. I expressed that I had always recognized this plan, but no one had implemented it.**
I thought this matter would be temporarily settled, but on June 4, I suddenly received a letter from Mengniu, roughly stating that I had organized downstream distributors to go to the factory to cause trouble, block the gate, and pull banners, seriously affecting the normal operation of the factory. I was very surprised. The facts are clear. What is the intention of exaggerating and distorting the facts? Could it be to intensify the conflict?
In July 2020, senior leaders sent someone to relay a message to me, roughly meaning the same as the plan we had previously agreed on, and that there would be an opportunity to take a suitable project to compensate for losses. (From this, it can be seen that our thoughts and demands are completely consistent with the intentions of senior management.)
So, on the other hand, **from Mengniu's letter, it can be seen that the situation understood by senior management differs from the true nature of the matter. Is it just a misunderstanding caused by information asymmetry?!** It is worth pondering!
In August 2020, General Manager Zhilong, General Manager Shujun, and the financial officer reconfirmed the previously reached consensus: Mengniu would handle the credit we owed and the fees owed to customers, and new projects could be supported, such as home batch stores.
Time flies, and 2021 is about to be half over. The agreement has not been signed, no one has asked about the project, and my personal and company situation is getting worse.
**The delay has been so long, and I have communicated many times during this period, all without results. This matter has exhausted us, making it impossible to operate and live normally. I hope Mengniu will resolve this matter as soon as possible, and I can quickly get back the long-overdue fees.**
Regarding the advanced fees mentioned above, we initially considered that if Mengniu thought the amount was too large, we did not insist on a one-time settlement. A portion could be compensated through project operations, whether it took one, three, or five years. But the result was that I kept making concessions, and it still didn't work.
Are you really trying to drive distributors to the brink? **Until now, I still firmly believe that a century-old Mengniu, with century-old customers, should resolve this based on facts and in a reasonable manner, and will not let customers bleed and cry.**
As a distributor who has cooperated with Mengniu for 18 years, a distributor who has tied his life and fortune to Mengniu, if you don't cooperate with stocking up, they won't let you work; if you cooperate with stocking up and problems arise, you can't work. This is the experience I have summarized.
It has been delayed for two years. I know that some leaders now want to solve it, but it is very difficult and hard to push forward. There are also some people who want to watch the joke. Regardless of the reason, it is very difficult to push forward.
**Given this situation, I have no choice but to take action and make the facts public, hoping to get a positive clarification from Mengniu! Regardless of the outcome, I will accept it, and I also hope that distributors across the country can learn from my case and draw lessons.**
My old mother has always taught me: "Don't cheat people, don't harm people, be honest!" I have always kept this in mind! So, to those who have supported me with funds because of Mengniu, or who have supported Mengniu's funds because of me, I, Old Dong, will not forget. Even if I have to sell everything I own, I will repay everyone. For the insufficient part, I will also use my 30 years of industry experience to strive again and fight again, and I will repay everyone as quickly as possible!
Mengniu, it's hard to say I love you!
_-END-_
**PS**: The 2021 (4th) China FMCG Conference, hosted by "New Distribution", is about to open in Shanghai. **Focusing on industry trends + practical cases + growth connection as the core**, **3,000** FMCG practitioners will gather at the event.
10 themed forums cover **new retail O2O, community group buying, short video live e-commerce, distributor transformation, rise of new consumer brands, interpretation of new alcoholic beverages, distribution B2B supply chain, omni-channel marketing, B2B2C new technology applications**, etc. Operators in various segments will bring the latest case interpretations.
Some of the heavy guests confirmed so far include: **1. Tao Shiquan, founder of Jiangxiaobai; 2. Yao Xuhong, general manager of Meiyijia Holdings Co., Ltd.; 3. Lu Xiuqiong, global expert partner at Bain & Company and former vice president of marketing for Coca-Cola China; 4. Chen Xiaodong, senior vice president of Nestlé Greater China; 5. Zhang Fujun, president of Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group China; 6. Bi Chaojiao, general manager of China Resources Snow Breweries (China) Marketing Center; 7. Yang Hongbin, vice president of Junlebao Dairy Group; 8. Yang Shun, COO of Lipton Greater China; 9. Zhang Yipeng, general manager of Kuaishou E-commerce SKA Brand Operations Center; 10. Li De, e-commerce general manager of Gold Hong Ye Paper Group...**
**A grand event for FMCG people, you must be there!**
**Are you "watching" me?**


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