On December 20, at the Moutai 2016 National Distributor Symposium, Li Baofang, Party Secretary, Vice Chairman, and General Manager of Moutai Group, explicitly stated: "The high-end baijiu market will be better next year than this year." He then elaborated on the sources of his confidence from both macroeconomic and industry perspectives.

From a macroeconomic perspective, "The Politburo meeting held on December 9 and the Central Economic Work Conference held from December 12 to 16 have released many favorable signals for next year's economic work: first, adhering to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability; second, implementing supply-side structural reform as the main line, especially advancing reforms in key foundational areas such as state-owned enterprises, fiscal and taxation, and finance; third, vigorously revitalizing the real economy."

From an industry perspective, "The market is gradually recovering, and most listed baijiu companies are seeing improved performance. Meanwhile, according to consulting agency analysis, the total number of middle-class and affluent households in China will rise from 53 million in 2015 to 98.7 million in 2020. The increase in high-net-worth individuals will drive consumption upgrades in baijiu, leading to 13%-15% growth for mid-to-high-end baijiu over the next five years."

It is clear that Moutai believes demand for high-end baijiu will not weaken in 2017 and will actually increase. From the Wuliangye distributor conference on the 18th and today's (20th) Moutai distributor conference, at least from the manufacturer's perspective, there have been no signals of increasing supply. On pricing, Moutai has repeatedly emphasized "stability" and warned distributors that the "era of huge profits" with prices at 2000 yuan per bottle is gone forever.

Looking at the overall supply in the high-end baijiu market, after three years of adjustment, some regional brands' high-end products have, strictly speaking, become nominal. The real players influencing price trends in the high-end baijiu market are Moutai, Wuliangye, and Guojiao 1573. Moutai is stabilizing prices and volume, Wuliangye is on the path of price adjustment, and Guojiao 1573 is also recovering its pricing.

Market analysts often compare Moutai, Wuliangye, and Guojiao 1573 as benchmarks for high-end baijiu. However, judging from this Moutai distributor conference, Moutai has already reached a higher level. In Li Baofang's words, it has "completely ended the buyer's market characterized by increasing social inventory, price inversion, and distributors not making money" and "established a seller's market with tight supply, rising terminal prices, and prominent supply-demand contradictions." Although Wuliangye and Guojiao 1573 still have a way to go to achieve this goal, the new horizon supported by the "leading brother" is beneficial to other high-end baijiu "brothers." The high-end baijiu market cake is once again showing its extremely attractive side before the arrival of 2017.

In short, the 2016 "Baijiu Two Conferences" confirmed both in form and content: this round of market adjustment for high-end baijiu has ended. Next, the question is who will gain a larger share and who will earn more profits. (So far, Moutai has already captured over 50% of the high-end baijiu market.)

Source: Jiushishan 679 Viewpoint Club (ID: new-food)

-END-

China's best learning platform for FMCG distributors Focusing on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for enterprises and distributors Committed to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry

Reply with the red number below to get corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base

| 001 Excellent Article Selection | 002 Distributor Market Operations | 003 Terminal Visit Management | 004 Sales Supervisor Skills | 005 Sales Volume Improvement Techniques | 006 Channel Expansion | 007 Managing Distributors | 008 Distributor Development | 009 Distributor Internal Operations Management | 010 Team Management | 011 Efficient Distribution Techniques | 012 Sales Manager's Skills | 013 KA Operation Methods and Strategies | 014 First Lesson for New Salespeople | 015 Internet, Brands | 016 Distributor B2B Transformation |

[Long press QR code to follow]