At the end of May, distributors of Wuliangye Yibin Co.,Ltd. were left puzzled as the wholesale price of its core flagship product, the Eighth Generation Wuliangye, experienced a decline.
Multiple liquor merchants revealed that the single-bottle wholesale price dropped from around 800 yuan at the beginning of the month to between 760 and 780 yuan. The wholesale price for original cases fell from approximately 4800 yuan to as low as 4550 yuan, representing a decline of over 5%. This price has now fallen below that of its main competitor, Guojiao 1573. The retail price for a single bottle has also reached a new low.
Merchants speculate that the drop may be due to panic selling driven by high social inventory levels. Simultaneously, they are uncertain whether prices have bottomed out and are pinning their hopes on supportive policies from the distillery: "Wuliangye isn't like other liquors; it can't stay this low forever, can it?"
It is worth noting that Wuliangye had just stated at a recent performance meeting that it would continue to solidify the Eighth Generation Wuliangye's leading position in the thousand-yuan price segment.
Industry insiders point out that the prolonged vacancy of Wuliangye's chairman has introduced uncertainty into market expectations, undermining confidence among social channel distributors. This lack of confidence has led to preemptive selling, causing price volatility.
According to its 2025 annual report, Wuliangye achieved operating revenue of 40.529 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 54.55%. Net profit was 8.954 billion yuan, a decline of 71.89% year-on-year. Currently, Zeng Congqin, the Party Committee Secretary and Chairman of Wuliangye, remains under detention. During this period, he was also removed from his position as Vice Chairman of the Sixth Council of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association.
A 5% Drop in One Month Leaves Merchants Exclaiming "Big Losses" Recently, the wholesale price of Wuliangye's core flagship product, the Eighth Generation Wuliangye, has experienced significant fluctuations. In early May, its wholesale price was around 800 yuan per bottle, with case prices hovering near 4800 yuan.
Historically, as the "618" shopping festival approaches, rising demand typically stabilizes or slightly increases wholesale prices. Actual price declines usually begin after the promotional period ends.
This year, however, has seen a particularly反常 situation. During what is traditionally a "peak demand season," the wholesale price of the Eighth Generation Wuliangye has fallen instead of rising, leaving many merchants lamenting "big losses."
One merchant publicly stated, "In recent days, the Eighth Generation Wuliangye has dropped sharply, and there's no sign of the decline stopping yet." Another merchant couldn't help but wonder, "Is there really no bottom for the Eighth Generation Wuliangye's market price, only lower? Has the famous Wuliangye really lost its支撑力?"
Bairong World Trade Mall, as the largest circulation market and distribution hub for baijiu nationwide, is considered to reflect representative wholesale prices for major products.
Discussions with multiple merchants at Bairong revealed that in just one month, the single-bottle wholesale price of the Eighth Generation Wuliangye plummeted from around 800 yuan to between 760 and 780 yuan. The case price dropped from around 4800 yuan to as low as 4550 yuan nearby, a decline exceeding 5%.
As a formidable competitor to the Eighth Generation Wuliangye, the high-proof Guojiao 1573 currently maintains a relatively stable single-bottle wholesale price between 830 and 850 yuan.
Regarding the reasons for this sudden drop in wholesale prices, several merchants also expressed confusion. They speculate it might be due to panic selling caused by high social inventory levels. When asked if the current price has bottomed out, merchants are uncertain: "Buying now shouldn't be a big problem; the distillery will surely introduce corresponding policies later," and "Wuliangye isn't like other liquors; it can't stay this low forever."
Retail Price Hits New Low, While Company Emphasizes Maintaining "Leading Position in Thousand-Yuan Segment" On the retail front, data shows that since May, the highest single-bottle selling price for the Eighth Generation Wuliangye was 828 yuan. It has since continued to fall, breaking a new low today at 809 yuan.
More notably, Wuliangye products online are also frequently breaking price floors.
Taking one major e-commerce platform as an example, in its "Billions in Subsidies" channel, the single-bottle price for the Eighth Generation Wuliangye can be as low as 719 yuan. The price for a double-bottle set can reach a minimum of 1456 yuan, averaging about 728 yuan per bottle. This online selling price is now far below the wholesale price. On two other major e-commerce platforms, prices are maintained around 800 yuan and between 800 and 840 yuan, respectively.
At Wuliangye's recent first interim shareholders' meeting for 2026, the company mentioned it would continue to solidify the core flagship Eighth Generation Wuliangye's leading position in the thousand-yuan price segment. In fact, as early as the end of last year, Wuliangye introduced a new policy allowing distributors to forgo direct payments. Instead, they could source products from the market, then transfer codes for sales, which would count towards their annual contract targets.
Some industry insiders stated that this move did stabilize market prices in the short term, but this year might require new, stronger measures. Currently, the chaotic and inverted prices of core products are the primary issue Wuliangye urgently needs to address.
Performance Halved, Product and Regional Revenue Both "Collapse" According to public information, Wuliangye's operating revenue for 2025 was 40.529 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 54.55%. Net profit was 8.954 billion yuan, down 71.89% year-on-year. In the first quarter of 2026, Wuliangye showed some improvement, with revenue of 22.838 billion yuan and net profit of 8.063 billion yuan.
By product category, overall revenue from liquor products in 2025 was 37.104 billion yuan, a decrease of 55.36% year-on-year.
Within this, the Wuliangye product series, including the Eighth Generation Wuliangye and 39-degree Wuliangye, generated revenue of 27.936 billion yuan, down 58.84% year-on-year. Other liquor products, including Wuliangchun and Wuliang Tequ, achieved revenue of 9.168 billion yuan, a decline of 39.89% year-on-year. Regarding inventory, the ending inventory for Wuliangye series products reached 25,100 tons, a year-on-year increase of 306.9%.
By region, Wuliangye showed declines across all areas: revenue in the Eastern region fell 58.99% year-on-year; the Southern region dropped 54.69%; and the Northern region decreased 48.42%.
Beyond the weak performance, Wuliangye's Chairman, Zeng Congqin, has also been placed under detention by relevant authorities.
In February of this year, Wuliangye issued an announcement stating that the company had recently received the "Case Filing Notice" for Chairman Zeng Congqin from the Yibin Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Yibin Municipal Supervisory Commission, as well as the "Detention Notice" from the Yibin Municipal Supervisory Commission.
Wuliangye stated that as of the announcement date, other directors and senior management were performing their duties normally, and production and operations were proceeding normally. The company had made proper arrangements for related matters, with daily operations management handled by the senior management team. These events would not have a significant impact on the company's production and operations.
According to Wuliangye's 2025 annual report, Party Committee Secretary and Chairman Zeng Congqin remains under detention. His annual salary was reported as 678,300 yuan.
Simultaneously, Zeng Congqin was "removed from his post" by the酒业协会 during his detention. It was announced at the recently held Eighth (Enlarged) Meeting of the Sixth Council of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association that Zeng Congqin, former Party Committee Secretary and Chairman of Wuliangye Group (Share Co., Ltd.), was removed from his position as Vice Chairman of the Sixth Council of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association due to suspected serious violations of law and discipline, following审查调查.
Considering all factors, independent liquor industry commentator Xiao Zhuqing pointed out the reasons for the Eighth Generation Wuliangye's price "collapse": "Price is determined by cost, supply-demand relationships, and market expectations. Currently, the cost of famous liquors hasn't changed much, so the main factors determining白酒 market prices are supply-demand relationships and market expectations. On one hand, Wuliangye's chairman has been absent for a long time. On the other hand, Wuliangye has substantial social inventory. Wuliangye's price is affected by uncertain factors in market expectations, causing social channel distributors to lose信心 and sell提前, resulting in price volatility."
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