---
title: "What Will Baijiu Distributors Compete On in the Next Decade?"
description: "Despite the pandemic's lingering impact on the baijiu industry, one distributor argues that 2020 marks the start of a new decade of rapid growth for those who transform into brand operators. This shift requires embracing consumer-centric thinking and adapting to fragmented channels and scarce brand resources."
author: "陈峰"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2021-02-19"
language: "en"
canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/what-will-baijiu-distributors-compete-on-in-the-next-decade-cdab861a/"
markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/what-will-baijiu-distributors-compete-on-in-the-next-decade-cdab861a.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/udatugZ0SQEe5b6KxGZkMg"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E4%B8%8B%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%AA%E5%8D%81%E5%B9%B4-%E7%99%BD%E9%85%92%E7%BB%8F%E9%94%80%E5%95%86%E6%8B%BC%E4%BB%80%E4%B9%88-cdab861a.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/what-will-baijiu-distributors-compete-on-in-the-next-decade-cdab861a/"
usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt"
---

# What Will Baijiu Distributors Compete On in the Next Decade?

> Despite the pandemic's lingering impact on the baijiu industry, one distributor argues that 2020 marks the start of a new decade of rapid growth for those who transform into brand operators. This shift requires embracing consumer-centric thinking and adapting to fragmented channels and scarce brand resources.

**Scan the QR code in the image to register**
Although it is already 2021, the pandemic test for the baijiu industry that began last year is not yet fully over.
To this day, large banquets remain suspended, and other forms of dining have drastically decreased. Despite a booming stock market, many baijiu distributors say their businesses have been severely impacted. Most distributors consider 2020 an extremely difficult year, a low point for business, and many have even abandoned the trade altogether.
However, in a recent conversation with Mr. Li, who represents a first-tier famous baijiu brand with a business scale exceeding 100 million yuan, I found that he differs from the pessimistic attitude of most distributors. Instead, he proposed a surprising viewpoint: **"2020 may be the beginning of a new decade of rapid development for baijiu distributors."**
Why is he so confident? Does he have some unique trick to ignore the negative impact of the pandemic, and has his business actually improved despite it?
**-01- Distributors Are Dead, Brand Operators Rise**
In fact, Mr. Li's company did not see counter-trend growth during the pandemic; it declined by about 10% compared to previous years. His optimism stems from having a clear path that he believes can set him apart from most peers—becoming a brand operator.
He said that the decade from 2003 to 2012 was indeed a happy decade for baijiu distributors, with industry volume and prices rising together, and many brands emerging. A large number of distributors could achieve business growth by following brand development, but unfortunately, he missed that opportunity.
After the golden decade, the baijiu industry began to reshuffle. After brand consolidation, the trend of concentration became obvious. Under the strong leadership of brands, channel models were explored, such as deep distribution and盘中盘 (a channel strategy). After this reshuffle, a group of baijiu distributors who made a living from distribution and delivery emerged. However, the industry's downward trend was evident, and many baijiu distributors saw their businesses decline, struggling in the cold winter.
"Distributors are dead" is not an exaggeration. In fact, even without the pandemic, many distributors had already realized the problem a year or two ago. In the past, due to the B-end thinking of "channel is king," many distributors focused all their energy on terminals, which was also what manufacturers needed. This was not a problem in the past.
In the past, being able to distribute products more deeply was the value of distributors. Because distributors achieved sales by helping brands seize terminals, the fees given by manufacturers were spent on terminals. Such distributors still have value today. However, this reliance on channels is extremely high. Once the product life cycle passes, the price system is broken, profits are insufficient to support channel returns, and if there are no new products to take over or replace, it faces collapse.
**Merchants who only do basic work such as advance payment, distribution, shelf placement, and display are helpless once the channel has problems.** This is also why, during the pandemic, when the catering channel was closed, many distributors did not even have the energy to continue.
"2020 is a brand new beginning. Whoever stands out will win the future. To seize new opportunities, distributors must embrace change. The next ten years will be an era of rapid development for a minority of distributors."
What exactly is this change? Where does the path he considers correct lead?
**-02- Triple Transformation: Consumers, Channels, and Brand Owners**
The change in distributor paths actually stems from changes in the entire business chain. Let's look at it from three angles.
**1. Consumer sovereignty rises; those who win C-end win the world**
First, today's business sovereignty is in the hands of consumers. With the increase in disposable income, the post-90s, post-00s, and Generation Z are gradually moving to the forefront. **Their habits of information exposure, aesthetic standards for brands, and purchase decision paths have completely changed.**
If your product display is good, there is someone better; if your product price is low, there is someone lower. At this time, only by obtaining C-end resources can you truly grab market share.
When you gain consumer recognition and loyalty, the B-end becomes a natural store for selling goods, and you don't need to rely on it. Your ability to resist risks also greatly increases. You won't fail to sell liquor just because a certain channel changes drastically; you can just switch to another channel and continue selling.
**2. Fragmented channels that cannot be controlled**
Not only are consumers changing, but the logic of channels is also very different from before. In the past, distributors knew how many stores were in a region and which business districts consumers liked to flock to.
Nowadays, the trend of channel fragmentation is obvious, both spatially and temporally. From the consumer's perspective, having more channels is a good thing; except for Moutai, you can buy the liquor you want anywhere. But for distributors, even if they want to stay unchanged and continue channel distribution, the channels are becoming increasingly difficult to control.
For example, 10 years ago, Shanghai people flocked to traditional business districts like Nanjing Road, Xujiahui, and Wujiaochang to shop. Now, they can shop online, go to hypermarkets, Wanda Plaza or other emerging shopping malls, or their favorite community stores. The same consumer might buy A through an online store, B through a community store, and C by visiting a hypermarket. The entire channel has been fragmented.
**3. Scarce brand resources; brand owners' needs are also changing**
**Baijiu is actually a very closed industry. With the establishment of the status of major famous liquors, it is basically difficult for latecomers to pose a threat.** In the past 10 years, besides Jiang Xiaobai, can you think of any other truly new baijiu brand that has risen? Even the outstanding Jiang Xiaobai, its scale today is still not impressive in the eyes of many traditional famous liquors, and Jiang Xiaobai is also investing heavily in building Jiangji Winery, digging into history, and establishing heritage.
In short, **the resources of baijiu brands have basically been circled by those head players, and may continue to concentrate in the future.** At this time, high-quality brands are already extremely scarce resources, and no one will deny this.
In this case, how can baijiu distributors obtain or retain high-quality brand resources? The business model must align with the manufacturer's thinking and meet the brand owner's needs. Distributors who go against the manufacturer's wishes will be eliminated without negotiation.
In the past, brand owners needed merchants with deep distribution capabilities who could seize markets and engage in close combat. But in the **era of consumer sovereignty, brand owners' investment direction has also shifted more towards building consumer awareness and loyalty. Product development, media investment, offline experience stores, etc., are all actually centered around consumers.**
That is to say, today or in the future, distributors who can cooperate with brand owners to win over consumers will gain the favor of brand owners. And **the strength of brand resources is an important factor in whether distributors can grow bigger and stronger in the future.**
These triple transformation trends have been emerging for several years. Of course, channel distribution is still important today, and even remains the main function of distributors, but in the future, having only these will definitely not be enough.
"There may be other paths, but brand operation is the clearest path I see. It requires good marketing capabilities, which most distributors cannot achieve. Therefore, the distributors that develop rapidly in the future will only be a small part of today's group." Mr. Li is very firm in his idea of taking the brand operator path.
**-03- Brand Operation is a Long-term Battle; C-end Thinking is Important**
Since the path of brand operation is clear, how exactly should it be done?
Here, the core points are two: **one is the importance of C-end thinking for distributors, and the other is that brand operation is a long-term battle.**
Why is it necessary to have C-end thinking?
First, although the B-end is still important now, many B2B platforms have already been able to handle B-end ordering and distribution more efficiently and at lower cost. With the widespread application of big data and digital tools, store owners will clearly know what consumers need and which goods sell better in the future.
On the other hand, not only do brand owners have the determination to fight for the C-end, but also because with the sharp rise in labor and operating costs, **even if manufacturers are willing, using previous resources to invest in channels to connect with millions of terminals for deep distribution is no longer feasible.**
Moreover, with the popularity of digital tools, **manufacturers have the ability to use distributors with brand operation capabilities as digital distribution connection points for a certain region.** Both can improve efficiency, and distributors can also expand their business scale.
Therefore, **distributors who are willing to invest in the C-end rather than the B-end, do long-term consumer cultivation, and have brand operation capabilities are more valuable and competitive in both upstream and downstream.**
**Consumer cultivation is unfamiliar to many distributors, and the process may be long and difficult. It is precisely because of this that this is the path that can set you apart from peers.**
Consumer cultivation is not simply giving away resources and products provided by the manufacturer for free tasting. Let me give an example:
Now many manufacturers are carrying out activities like "famous liquor entering famous enterprises," because a single banquet in a famous enterprise may bring hundreds of thousands or even millions in sales. Various brands provide ample product support, but some brand distributors do not do it well. For example, sending two boxes of liquor to a customer's warehouse, pulling a banner, and taking a photo—is that called "famous liquor entering famous enterprises"? Of course not. This kind of face project done to complete tasks actually appears in many distributors' hands.
True consumer cultivation, especially for products like baijiu, must let consumers put the product on the dining table and drink it, especially opinion leaders. So how can we get them to drink the liquor?
One way is to find leaders at the manager level or above, find a way to send the liquor directly to their office, and make it clear that the liquor is for them to drink, not for their company. This way, whenever they need liquor for banquets, they will think of your brand first.
The second is enterprise social events. Every famous enterprise has a union, and there are many single people in the enterprise. The union has a political task to match couples. Distributors organize unions to do exchange activities, and the liquor is fully supported by the manufacturer. Naturally, this liquor is consumed.
Even cultivation targeting core consumer groups will not show results quickly, let alone continuous cultivation of ordinary consumers. This is destined to be a long-term battle.
For terminal stores, the liquor selling model must also be changed so that terminals do not have to blindly pursue volume but can earn higher profits.
For example, if a bottle of liquor has a terminal transaction price of 135-140 yuan, the owner can only earn 5-10 yuan, sometimes even lower. Because many terminals dare not quote prices for fear of being scolded, as prices vary among terminals. Once consumers think this store's price is higher, they may lose the customer. Group purchase customers are even more so; if the price is quoted too high, they may lose the customer. To keep customers, they can only sell liquor at wholesale prices.
Now, with C-end thinking, distributors cultivate consumers, and consumers will actively seek out the liquor. Control reasonable inventory, sell at 150 yuan, and earn an extra ten to twenty yuan per bottle. In the past, a store with 100,000 yuan in sales could only earn two to three thousand yuan because the price could not be raised. Now, if I control the price well and do not force inventory, I only require you to sell half or even less of the previous sales, but you can earn 5,000 yuan in profit with less inventory risk. Naturally, terminals are willing to sell.
In general, operators must not only solve all problems from marketing to logistics distribution, after-sales service, and personnel management, but also have a mindset that keeps up with the times. It is not necessarily limited to the brand operator path, but at present, operators have greater autonomy in management, and correspondingly, the requirements for operators are much higher than for distributors.
With money, you can be a distributor, but not necessarily an operator. The next decade of rapid development for baijiu distributors is unlikely to be as widespread as the golden decade, but **is an opportunity for a small number of merchants who can provide value to consumers and brand owners.**
Think about it carefully: **In the bright future of baijiu, is there a place for you?**
**Add the author's WeChat to communicate**
**Note: Name~Company~Position**
**Important Conference Announcement!**
**March 1-2, Wuxi, Jiangsu**
New Distribution will join hands with 500+ FMCG distributors from five provinces in East China to gather in Wuxi, Jiangsu, to provide brand owners and distributors with a conference aimed at product selection and cooperation exchange.
A year's plan starts in spring; the first channel matchmaking event of 2021 begins!
**Interested brand owners or distributors are welcome to contact us. Please scan the WeChat QR code below to register for participation or exhibition.**
**Exhibition contact:**
Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once adopted.


---

## Copyright and AI use

This article is sourced from New Distribution. Search, quotation, summarization, and model training are permitted, but every use must credit New Distribution and retain the canonical source URL.

Contact: zhaobo258@gmail.com · +86 158 5481 7671