Sina Finance's "Liquor Price Insider" is officially launched, providing comprehensive real market prices for renowned baijiu brands. The leading baijiu producer, Moutai, plans to reduce the wholesale prices for distributors on several products, including the Premium Moutai and Moutai 1935. Recent market information indicates that Moutai has clarified the 2026 contract prices for some products, with wholesale prices for distributors set to be lowered on multiple items, involving Premium Moutai, Aged Kweichow Moutai (15), 43% Feitian Moutai, and Moutai 1935. Reportedly, the wholesale price for Aged Kweichow Moutai (15) is planned to be reduced from 5,399 yuan per bottle to 3,409 yuan per bottle, a cut of 1,990 yuan, representing a decrease of nearly 37%. The Premium Moutai price is planned to drop from 2,969 yuan per bottle to 1,859 yuan per bottle, a reduction of 1,110 yuan, exceeding 37%. The price for 43% Feitian Moutai is set to be lowered to 739 yuan per bottle (compared to 798 yuan per bottle for the 2025 planned quota and 989 yuan per bottle for the non-quota allocation). Furthermore, the wholesale price for Moutai 1935, a flagship product in Moutai's sauce-aroma series with annual sales exceeding ten billion yuan, is planned to be reduced from 798 yuan per bottle to 668 yuan per bottle, a cut of 130 yuan, amounting to a 16% decrease. On January 13, confirmation from Moutai distributors verified that the aforementioned information is "accurate." As of now, Kweichow Moutai has not publicly released any official announcement regarding these price adjustments. Independent liquor industry commentator Xiao Zhuqing stated that the price reduction for Moutai 1935 has been confirmed. The contract price for Moutai 1935 has been lowered from 798 yuan to 668 yuan per bottle. Xiao also noted that the ex-factory price for Premium Moutai has been reduced from 2,969 yuan to 1,859 yuan, with the suggested retail price decreasing from 3,299 yuan to 2,299 yuan. The ex-factory price for Aged Moutai (15) has been cut from 5,399 yuan to 3,409 yuan, and its retail price has been adjusted from 5,999 yuan to 4,199 yuan. Xiao Zhuqing believes that since Chen Hua assumed the role of Chairman of Kweichow Moutai Group, there has been a consistent push for "market-oriented" reforms. This includes regulating shipment volumes based on market supply and demand, and establishing a price formation mechanism that follows market conditions. By promptly adjusting price policies for relevant products in respect of market dynamics, it demonstrates a commitment to honoring market principles. As Moutai's prices realign, the brand's potential consumer base and usage scenarios expand, allowing small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, individual business owners, and middle-class families—who previously found genuine Moutai unaffordable or inaccessible—to become new additions to the "Moutai enthusiast" community, significantly increasing the bottle opening rate. It is important to note that, from the perspective of the end market, products such as Premium Moutai, Aged Moutai (15), 43% Feitian Moutai, and Moutai 1935 have experienced varying degrees of "price inversion" over an extended period, where their retail prices were significantly lower than the official suggested prices. Regarding Moutai's move to reduce wholesale prices on several core products, one distributor commented, "This adjustment was long overdue." The distributor added, "Apart from Feitian Moutai, products like Premium Moutai and Moutai 1935 were essentially being sold at a loss by distributors previously." Another distributor remarked with feeling, "Market-driven pricing for Moutai has truly arrived!" This distributor also mentioned, "This price reduction by Moutai also reserves a profit margin for distributors." Now, the iMoutai platform basically offers the entire Moutai product lineup, with highly transparent pricing that can be seen as the market price "anchor." It was observed that since the upgrade and revamp of the iMoutai app, multiple Moutai products have been successively listed for sale. On the app, the retail prices for Premium Moutai, Aged Moutai (15), 43% Feitian Moutai, and Moutai 1935 are 2,299 yuan per bottle, 4,199 yuan per bottle, 829 yuan per bottle, and 738 yuan per bottle, respectively, all representing reductions of varying degrees compared to the previous official suggested retail prices. According to previous public reports, the former official suggested retail prices for Premium Moutai, Aged Moutai (15), 43% Feitian Moutai, and Moutai 1935 were 3,299 yuan per bottle, 5,999 yuan per bottle, 1,099 yuan per bottle, and 1,188 yuan per bottle, respectively. It is worth mentioning that regarding the next steps in Moutai's marketing transformation towards market orientation, at the 2026 Moutai National Distributors Association Fellowship Meeting held on January 9, Moutai Group clarified the focus on achieving product marketization. The core of this reform is to properly position each product and rebuild a "pyramid" structure. The base of this pyramid is Feitian Moutai, the mid-section consists of premium wines like Premium Moutai and Zodiac Moutai, and the pinnacle comprises aged wines and cultural wines. Simultaneously, product allocation will also be marketized, adopting refined and differentiated distribution strategies. Allocations will be dynamically adjusted based on distributors' sell-through performance and regional market capacity, avoiding egalitarian "distribution for the sake of distribution," to ensure product structure precisely matches market demand and to build a product pricing system that "follows market conditions." Data from the third-party platform "Today's Liquor Price," which discloses wholesale reference prices for major famous spirits, showed that on January 13, the price for a case of 25-year Feitian Moutai (53% vol/500ml) was quoted at 1,525 yuan per bottle, while a single bottle was quoted at 1,520 yuan per bottle, both unchanged from the previous day. Premium Moutai was quoted at 2,230 yuan per bottle, Aged Moutai (15) at 3,880 yuan per bottle, both cased and single bottles of 43% Feitian Moutai at 800 yuan per bottle, and Moutai 1935 at 650 yuan per bottle. According to DZH VIP, as of the midday close on January 13, the share price of Kweichow Moutai (600519.SH) was reported at 1,418.97 yuan per share, down 0.30%.
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