While the market price of Feitian Moutai has fallen frequently, Moutai Group has also ushered in the news of a change of leadership.
On the evening of April 29, Kweichow Moutai issued an announcement saying that according to the relevant documents of the Guizhou Provincial People's Government, Zhang Deqin was recommended as a director and chairman of Kweichow Moutai Co., Ltd., and Ding Xiongjun was no longer the chairman and director of the company.
According to the website of the Guizhou Provincial People's Government, Ding Xiongjun was transferred to the director of the Guizhou Provincial Administration for Market Regulation (Guizhou Provincial Intellectual Property Office).
01
Chairman of Moutai, four terms in six years
As the "King of A-shares", Kweichow Moutai has changed four consecutive heads in six years.
Kweichow Moutai related announcements. Screenshot from Shanghai Stock Exchange.
On August 30, 2021, Ding Xiongjun, then director of the Guizhou Provincial Energy Bureau, succeeded Gao Weidong and became the youngest chairman in the history of Kweichow Moutai at the age of 47.
It is worth noting that two of Ding Xiongjun's predecessors were sentenced to "life": in 2019, Yuan Renguo, former deputy secretary of the Kweichow Moutai Party Committee and former chairman, was expelled from the party and expelled from public office, and in 2021, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting bribes, and in 2022, Gao Weidong, who served as the party secretary and chairman of Kweichow Moutai, was expelled from the party and expelled from public office, and in February 2024, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting bribes.
Before Ding Xiongjun became the chairman of Moutai, with the recovery of the liquor industry, the terminal retail price of Moutai began to rise continuously, but the "dual-track price system" also damaged Moutai's own interests, and in the first half of 2021, Kweichow Moutai's net profit growth rate was 9.08%, which was less than double digits for the first time in five years.
On the day Ding Xiongjun took office, Kweichow Moutai's share price closed down 0.63%, and the total market value fell below 2 trillion, near the lowest point in three years. This also reflected the market's concern about the development prospects of Moutai at that time.
Under heavy pressure, price control and channel reform became an important task faced by the then chairman of Moutai.
02
The youngest chairman of Moutai
What was left behind?
In the two years and eight months in office, what did Ding Xiongjun, who "parachuted" into Moutai, leave behind?
Price control is the primary problem faced by Ding Xiongjun, and his "three-board axe" was also first waved at the "unpacking order" left by his predecessor Gao Weidong. This price-control measure, which created Moutai's "sky-high carton price", was eventually replaced by the "unpacking and supplementary policy of 12 bottles in a full box" after much controversy, and the activity of "two bottles of wine can be purchased when you book a room" at Moutai International Hotel was terminated.
After improving the price control measures, Ding Xiongjun began to plan to increase profits. Under the circumstance that the ex-factory price of Feitian Moutai has not been able to be increased for a long time, through the 4599 yuan ultra-high-end treasures Moutai, Moutai 1935, solar term Moutai, 100ml Feitian Moutai, "Scattered Flower Feitian", Xunfeng Moutai and other products "new", the price increase strategy of non-core products is built to expand the profit boundary of high-end products in the way of enriching the product matrix.
Ding Xiongjun at the channel business symposium. The picture comes from the official website of Kweichow Moutai Group.
In terms of channel reform, Ding Xiongjun developed online channels and launched the "i Moutai" APP. In addition, the "young chairman" is also committed to letting the "wind of the Z generation" blow into Moutai, and has successively launched Moutai ice cream, sauce latte, Moutai chocolate and other Internet celebrity "explosive products", so that Moutai has earned enough topic on social platforms, thereby promoting the rejuvenation of the brand.
Ding Xiongjun's series of reforms have also brought new changes to Kweichow Moutai. According to the financial report of Kweichow Moutai, in 2023, the sales revenue of "i Moutai" will be 22.374 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 88.29%, and the entire direct sales channel will achieve a revenue of 67.233 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 36.16%, accounting for 45.67% of the channel revenue, accounting for nearly half.
03
The "old Moutai people" returned
What are the new development issues?
When Ding Xiongjun stepped down, the liquor industry once again "changed".
Since 2023, the entire liquor industry has entered a period of deep adjustment, with weak market demand and slowing down sales, and "destocking" has become the focus of the industry. For Moutai itself, the growth rate of direct sales revenue in the first quarter of 2024 has begun to slow down, and the recent market price of loose bottles of Feitian Moutai has fallen frequently and appeared on the hot search, which has also caused market concerns. At the same time, there is still a long way to go to balance the interests of direct sales channels and wholesaler channels.
These questions were handed over to his successor, Zhang Deqin.
Different from the "airborne" of the previous chairmen, the 51-year-old Zhang Deqin is a native of the "old Moutai" who walked out of the workshop.
On April 27, Zhang Deqin investigated the production quality of Moutai. The picture comes from the official website of Kweichow Moutai Group.
According to public information, Zhang Deqin graduated from Guizhou University of Technology in 1995 with a major in fermentation engineering, and then joined Kweichow Moutai Liquor Co., Ltd., successively serving as a technician in the fifth liquor making workshop, secretary and deputy director of the Youth League branch, director of the second liquor making workshop, and assistant to the general manager. In 2010, Zhang Deqin served as the assistant to the general manager of China Kweichow Moutai Distillery Co., Ltd., and the deputy secretary of the Party Committee, chairman and general manager of Xijiu Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kweichow Moutai. In July 2022, Xijiu officially broke away from Moutai Group and "flew solo". Zhang Deqin, who had left the liquor industry for a short time, also returned to Xijiu and served as the party secretary and chairman of Guizhou Xijiu Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd.
Cai Xuefei, an analyst in the liquor industry and general manager of Zhiqu Consulting, told Zhongxin Finance that Zhang Deqin and his team are the key to the rapid development of Xijiu in recent years, and they are also the biggest supporting force for Xijiu to achieve nationalization, high-end and sales of 20 billion yuan.
Considering that Zhang Deqin himself has worked as an assistant to the general manager of Moutai, and belongs to the leadership that has grown up in the Moutai system, and is familiar with the operation of the Moutai system and the internal and external environment, it should be said that Zhang Deqin's arrival has important breakthrough value and significance for Moutai's future development strategy. ”
According to the official website of Kweichow Moutai Group, on April 27, Zhang Deqin has gone deep into the liquor making workshop and the hook storage workshop to investigate the production quality of Moutai on the spot.
Cai Xuefei believes that for Zhang Deqin, maintaining the stable and reasonable growth of Moutai is the core topic. "Specifically, the first is the internal reform and production management efficiency improvement of Moutai, the second is to face the balance and development problems between Moutai's direct sales and traditional dealers, the third is how to better play the leverage and supporting role of Moutai in Guizhou's regional economy, the fourth is to give full play to the leading role of Moutai and drive the relevant industrial clusters to become bigger and stronger, and the fifth is to promote the rejuvenation and international transformation and development of Moutai. ”
On April 30, Kweichow Moutai closed at 1,705 yuan, up 0.06%.