Last week, Wuliangye Yibin Co.,Ltd.'s flagship product, the 8th generation Wuliangye, experienced severe price volatility in wholesale markets, with prices dropping to as low as 800 yuan per bottle. Even during the Mid-Autumn Festival period, prices failed to recover significantly, with current wholesale prices ranging between 810-830 yuan, falling below those of premium Jiannanchun 1573.

Industry sources reveal that to maintain market stability, Wuliangye has introduced a new policy allowing dealers to purchase inventory from secondary markets and resell it with proper coding, which counts toward their 2025 contract obligations rather than requiring upfront payments. Company representatives confirmed this policy is currently active, stating that "post-holiday measures will include additional price support mechanisms, with incentives for quality sales and penalties for dumping practices."

According to institutional sources, reflecting the broader liquor industry's continued volume contraction, Wuliangye's dealer payment collections have underperformed this year. Mid-year collections reached approximately 50% compared to 75% in the same period last year, representing a 25 percentage point decline. By September, collections stood at 60-80% versus 90% in the previous year, showing up to a 30 percentage point gap. The company's inventory turnover period has extended to 70 days.

Market Dynamics and Pricing Pressure

During the recent Mid-Autumn and National Day holiday season, the 8th generation Wuliangye faced dramatic price fluctuations. Wholesale prices plummeted by dozens of yuan within a week, temporarily hitting 800 yuan before stabilizing at current levels of 810-830 yuan, below the 830-840 yuan range maintained by competing premium Jiannanchun 1573.

Online platforms present even steeper discounts. On major e-commerce sites, subsidized channels offer single bottles at 760-780 yuan, with two-bottle packages averaging 750 yuan per bottle, significantly below wholesale prices. Other platforms maintain pricing between 850-870 yuan and 850-890 yuan respectively.

The dealer inventory collection policy represents one component of Wuliangye's broader market intervention strategy. Since early 2024, the company has implemented peak season supply restrictions, increased channel subsidies, and enhanced incentive programs, though these measures have failed to halt price declines.

Industry analysts attribute the pressure primarily to Moutai's wholesale price softening, which has cascaded to Wuliangye amid oversupply conditions. They note that among Wuliangye's portfolio, only the flagship Wuliangye product maintains strong sales, while series products face slow turnover and inventory pressure.

Beyond core product pricing challenges, Wuliangye's newly launched 29-degree "Love at First Sight" variant faces market acceptance hurdles. Priced at 399 yuan and targeting younger consumers, the product has achieved over 14,000 unit sales across major platforms in its first month, though industry observers question its pricing strategy's effectiveness in reaching intended demographics.

Financial Performance Under Pressure

Wuliangye's 2024 interim results showed revenue of 52.771 billion yuan, up 4.19% year-over-year, with net profit reaching 19.492 billion yuan, growing 2.28%. This marks the company's first single-digit growth in a decade, highlighting performance pressures.

Financial details reveal mixed results across segments. Wuliangye products generated 40.998 billion yuan in revenue, up 4.57%, though gross margins declined 0.24%. Series products contributed 8.122 billion yuan, up 2.73%, with gross margins falling 1.49%, indicating revenue growth without profit improvement. The dealer network contracted by 24 locations in eastern and northern regions.

Volume metrics show Wuliangye products achieved 27,300 tons in sales, up 12.75%, generating the aforementioned revenue increase of 4.57%. This translates to a 7.25% unit price decline, demonstrating classic "volume up, price down" dynamics.

The interim growth primarily stemmed from first-quarter performance, with Q1 revenue at 36.94 billion yuan and net profit at 14.86 billion yuan. Excluding this contribution, second-quarter revenue reached only 15.831 billion yuan, growing just 0.1% year-over-year, while profit declined with net income of 4.632 billion yuan, down 7.58%.

Recent dealer conferences indicate Wuliangye's continued commitment to price stabilization through strict penalty enforcement and proactive low-price inventory recovery. However, whether these measures can effectively support wholesale pricing and drive performance improvements remains to be observed.