Sichuan Swellfun Co.,Ltd. announced the resignation of its General Manager on the evening of the 6th. The announcement stated that effective May 6, 2026, Hu Tingzhou has resigned from his positions as Director, General Manager, and member of the Strategy Committee and Nomination Committee of the company. Chief Strategy Officer Zhou Zhiming will temporarily assume the General Manager's responsibilities. This marks the seventh change in the General Manager position at Sichuan Swellfun since 2013.
Hu Tingzhou's original term was scheduled to expire on June 4, 2027. According to the announcement, Hu submitted his written resignation for personal reasons and also stepped down from his role as the company's legal representative. Since global spirits giant Diageo became the controlling shareholder of Sichuan Swellfun in 2013, the company has seen seven different individuals hold the General Manager position over 14 years, with an average tenure of less than two years. The longest tenure lasted only three years. Since 2020 alone, Sichuan Swellfun has had five individuals serve as General Manager or Acting General Manager, with an average tenure of under one year.
Public records show that seven individuals have held the General Manager/Acting General Manager role since 2013, including James Michael Rice (March 2013 - September 2015), Fan Xiangfu (October 2015 - July 2019), Wei Yongbiao (June 2019 - September 2020), Zhu Zhenhao (2020 - February 2023), Mark Edwards (English name: Aien Hua; March 2023 - March 2024, Acting General Manager), Acting General Manager Jiang Leifeng, and Hu Tingzhou (July 2024 - May 2026).
In December 2006, Diageo acquired a 43% stake in Quanxing Group, the largest shareholder of Sichuan Swellfun, giving it an indirect 16.87% holding in Sichuan Swellfun. After several rounds of share purchases, Diageo obtained 100% control of Quanxing Group in July 2013, thereby becoming the ultimate controlling shareholder of Sichuan Swellfun. The 2025 financial report indicates that the ultimate controlling party of both the largest shareholder, Sichuan Chengdu Swellfun Group Co., Ltd. (holding 39.79%), and the second-largest shareholder, GRAND METROPOLITAN INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED (holding 23.48%), is Diageo plc, with a combined stake of 63.27%.
According to its financial report, Sichuan Swellfun achieved operating revenue of 3.038 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 41.77%, and a net profit of 406 million yuan, a decline of 69.73%. This performance also impacted Diageo. In the first half of fiscal year 2026 (July - December 2025), Diageo's organic net sales in Greater China fell by 42.3% year-on-year, with the baijiu business volume dropping by 50.4%. The financial report stated that excluding the impact of the Sichuan Swellfun business, the decline in Diageo's global organic net sales would narrow from 2.8% to 0.5%.
Rumors began circulating in the market towards the end of 2025 suggesting that "a certain liquor company intends to acquire Sichuan Swellfun," prompting the company to issue a clarification announcement. Diageo addressed these rumors during its H1 FY2026 earnings conference call, stating that the talk of a sale was pure market speculation. However, it also noted that "if a third party proactively presents us with an offer for assets outside our strategic plan that we cannot refuse, as a rational enterprise, we would obviously listen and engage."
In the first quarter of 2026, Sichuan Swellfun reported operating revenue of 816 million yuan, a sequential increase of 18%. Net profit was 171 million yuan, up 114.13% quarter-on-quarter, and the net profit margin improved by 7.6 percentage points compared to the full year of 2025.
Sichuan Swellfun stated that, thanks to proactive management measures, both revenue and profit have shown a sequential narrowing of declines since the third quarter of 2025. First-quarter revenue increased by 18% sequentially, profit rose 114.13% quarter-on-quarter, operating cash flow turned positive to 70 million yuan from -624 million yuan for the full year 2025, the management expense ratio decreased by 7 percentage points sequentially, and the gross profit margin increased by 1 percentage point. The net profit margin increased by 1 percentage point year-on-year and was up 7.6 percentage points compared to the full year 2025. The company maintains a cautiously optimistic outlook for future development.
Beverage industry analyst Cai Xuefei believes that Sichuan Swellfun has achieved initial success in controlling inventory and stabilizing its price system, as evidenced by the improved sequential performance in Q1 2026. However, medium-to-long-term strategic adjustments, such as brand repositioning, channel ecosystem restructuring, and breakthroughs in the premium segment, are systemic projects. A tenure of two to three years may only be sufficient to lay the groundwork; a complete turnaround requires longer-term strategic support. Especially in the current complex market environment, one cannot rely overly on an individual's decisive impact on corporate development; instead, the overall value and role of the company's internal and external conditions must be leveraged.
Sichuan Swellfun stated in its announcement that the Board of Directors will strive to complete the appointment of a new General Manager within the first half of the year, in accordance with relevant regulations. Until a new General Manager is appointed, Mr. Zhou Zhiming will temporarily perform the duties of the General Manager effective May 6, 2026.
Cai Xuefei added that the challenges facing the next successor at Sichuan Swellfun are multiple and overlapping. The most urgent tasks are stabilizing performance during this period of industry-wide deep adjustment, improving cash flow, advancing relevant localization reforms, and rebuilding market confidence.
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