The recent suspension of corporate purchase programs for Feitian Moutai at par value in Sichuan and Chongqing self-operated stores has quickly sparked widespread market discussion. Some believe the tightening of corporate group purchase channels will compress procurement avenues for business use, while some investors have linked this move to discussions about exclusive purchase rights for shareholders. However, looking beyond short-term market sentiment reveals that these adjustments are not merely about supply contraction. Instead, they represent the implementation of Kweichow Moutai Co.,Ltd.'s multi-year strategy to reshape its distribution channels with a focus on the ordinary consumer. By severing grey-market circulation chains and establishing a unified, direct-to-consumer digital system, the allocation of scarce Feitian Moutai resources is being steered back towards its original principle of fairness.
The corporate group purchase mechanism at par value was first introduced in 2022. From its inception, it featured extremely high entry barriers, being open only to large local enterprises with substantial tax contributions. It also came with rigid constraints such as mandatory bundling with non-standard products and empty bottle recycling. Overall, it was a closed, small-scale supply channel completely inaccessible to ordinary small and medium-sized enterprises and individual consumers. Earlier this year, Kweichow Moutai Co.,Ltd. temporarily simplified the group purchase rules, removing the compulsory bundling clause, but only allowed existing long-term clients to renew cooperation without opening up new corporate registrations. Following this brief period of relaxation, the collective suspension of this business by multiple direct stores points to deeper considerations in channel governance.
During its operation, this corporate group purchase system gradually revealed hard-to-avoid loopholes in circulation. Some enterprises, upon obtaining their par-value quotas, did not use the liquor for genuine needs like corporate hospitality or employee benefits. Instead, the liquor entered the secondary circulation market through multiple layers of transactions, indirectly becoming a source for scalpers to hoard and arbitrage. The persistent price gap between the market price and the official guide price for Feitian Moutai, driven by its scarcity, creates a significant arbitrage opportunity. The existence of the corporate group purchase channel objectively formed a "special passage" for resource allocation, contradicting the consumer equality principle advocated by Moutai. Suspending corporate purchases essentially severs the grey-market pipeline for price gap arbitrage, redirecting the par-value liquor previously allocated to a few enterprises back into the digital direct sales channels open to the general public.
The core vehicle now supporting Moutai's channel transformation is the iMoutai digital platform. Earlier this year, Feitian Moutai was officially integrated into the app for regular distribution. Combined with two rounds of product price adjustments that clarified the pricing structure, Moutai has now completely seized the initiative in pricing and allocation for its core product. This has fundamentally rewritten the old pattern of long-term reliance on multi-tier distributors and corporate group purchases to divert supply. The Q1 2026 operational data provides direct evidence of the transformation's effectiveness. The iMoutai platform's quarterly revenue (excluding tax) exceeded 21.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of approximately 267%. Direct sales channel revenue now accounts for nearly 40% of the company's total revenue, surpassing traditional distribution channels to become the largest sales front.
The greatest advantage of the digital direct sales channel lies in establishing a set of non-discriminatory, traceable purchasing rules. All individual consumers, after completing real-name verification, possess equal qualification to apply. The platform incorporates multiple risk control measures such as facial recognition, purchase limits, and application frequency controls, significantly reducing the room for scalping operations like bulk hoarding or proxy applications. Compared to the heavily gated corporate group purchases accessible only to a few entities, the online channel open to all aligns more closely with Moutai's core reform goals of "fairness, authenticity, and convenience." Shifting the focus of resource allocation from closed group purchases to a public digital platform is also a key step for Moutai in balancing supply and demand and alleviating market frenzy.
Extending the channel fairness reform to the capital market has fueled the current hot discussion on exclusive purchase rights for shareholders. Many investors, referencing the shareholder reward models of overseas listed companies, have proposed creating an independent channel for long-term shareholders to purchase liquor at par value. Related questions were formally raised at the earnings conference in May this year. In response, Moutai's management provided a clear answer, establishing "consumer equality" as the core principle. They clarified that all purchasing entities—whether shareholders, enterprises, or ordinary consumers—are uniformly subject to the same purchasing rules, and resource quotas will not be divided based on identity.
Reviewing the evolution of shareholder purchase policies clearly shows Moutai's consistent approach of continuously tightening privileged channels. The 2018 annual general meeting offered a lenient purchase policy, allowing attending shareholders to buy full cases of Feitian Moutai at par value bundled with zodiac-themed liquor. Over the following two years, the policy gradually tightened, shifting to limited-quota lotteries for multi-category bundled sets. Starting in 2022, the annual general meeting completely abolished the exclusive purchase benefits for Feitian and zodiac-themed liquor. Shareholders wishing to purchase these popular items must now participate in the iMoutai lottery alongside the general public, with only a small quantity of aged series liquor available for limited offline purchase. Over the years, Moutai's reward to shareholders for their investment has not been through preferential access to liquor but through consistently increasing cash dividend payouts. From 2022 to 2025, the company's annual dividend payout ratio has remained stably above 75% of net profit, rewarding all investors through a standardized, non-differentiated dividend mechanism.
Objectively speaking, the comprehensive channel tightening also presents short-term controversies and unresolved challenges. On one hand, many physical enterprises have lost a stable channel for purchasing at par value. Rigid demand for business banquets and client entertainment may now have to turn to the open market, potentially raising procurement costs for small and medium-sized enterprises in the short term. On the other hand, daily application volume on the iMoutai platform remains high, with winning rates consistently low. Even as channel resources continue to shift towards the consumer end, the actual difficulty for ordinary consumers to purchase at par value has not been fully alleviated. For Moutai itself, completely abolishing corporate group purchases also means it must rebalance the needs of government and business cooperation. Whether a new, standardized corporate procurement mechanism without arbitrage opportunities will be introduced remains to be seen in subsequent official policies.
From a long-term industry development perspective, Moutai's current channel reform holds benchmark significance for the sector. Historically, the baijiu industry commonly featured multiple differentiated supply channels, such as tiered distributors, special corporate group purchases, and exclusive shareholder benefits, artificially creating barriers in resource allocation. Issues like price gap speculation and cross-regional hoarding have been persistent problems. Using iMoutai as the key tool, Moutai is gradually cleaning up various special supply channels, pushing all consumer entities into a unified, open channel, thereby reshaping the allocation logic for scarce premium liquor.
Behind this reform logic is Moutai's transformation from a "product manufacturer" to a "consumer brand operator." By forgoing the short-term convenience of rapid volume sales through corporate group purchases and instead investing resources to build a fair purchasing system for all, the company may sacrifice some channel convenience in the short run. However, this move can continuously purify the circulation market and solidify brand credibility. As the scale of direct sales channel allocation continues to expand and risk control mechanisms improve, the accessibility of par-value purchases for ordinary consumers is expected to steadily increase in the future, with arbitrage opportunities continuing to narrow.
Halting corporate purchases of Feitian at par value is just one part of Moutai's channel transformation. Adhering to consumer equality and deepening the digital direct sales model is the long-term strategic focus. In balancing the three objectives of meeting corporate business needs, fulfilling ordinary consumer purchase demands, and rewarding all shareholders, Moutai has chosen a standardized, privilege-free channel system as the solution. This ongoing channel reshaping will not only rewrite the circulation landscape for Feitian Moutai but also provide a governance model for the entire premium baijiu industry that balances fairness with sustainable development.
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