1499 yuan becomes history! Feitian Moutai price hike, what signals does it send?

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Caixin Global March 30 News (Reporter Zhu Wanping) Nearly two and a half years later, Kweichow Moutai (600519.SH) has once again announced an increase in the ex-factory price of its 53-degree, 500ml Moutai liquor. In addition to raising the ex-factory price, the self-operated retail price has also been increased, bringing an end to the official guidance price of 1499 yuan per bottle for Feitian Moutai, which has lasted for 8 years.

Tonight, Kweichow Moutai issued an announcement stating that, effective March 31, it will adjust the price of its core product—Feitian Moutai liquor at 53 degrees, 500ml. The sales contract price will be increased from 1169 yuan per bottle to 1269 yuan per bottle, and the self-operated retail price in its own system will be adjusted from 1499 yuan per bottle to 1539 yuan per bottle.

Image source: Caixin Global reporter Zhu Wanping / photo

This dual-line price adjustment shows a clear asymmetric feature. Among them, the ex-factory price of 53-degree, 500ml Moutai liquor will be increased by 100 yuan, a rise of about 8.5%; the self-operated retail price will be increased by 40 yuan, a rise of about 2.6%. Looking back at history, Moutai has long adhered to a strategy of “only setting the factory price, without changing the guidance price.” In November 2023, when it raised the ex-factory price of Feitian Moutai from 969 yuan per bottle to 1169 yuan per bottle, it also did not adjust the retail guidance price. This dual-line price adjustment breaks a long-standing precedent, which the market interprets as an important signal that the company is actively controlling its pricing system.

The announcement makes it clear that this adjustment applies only to Feitian Moutai at 53 degrees and 500ml. The self-operated system, including 42 offline self-operated stores and iMoutai, will adjust prices in sync, which also means that the retail price of the 500ml Feitian Moutai on the iMoutai platform will officially switch to 1539 yuan per bottle.

“In the announcement, it says that the self-operated system’s retail price is raised to 1539 yuan per bottle. And as for dealer-side retail prices, they are not limited by official guidance prices, and will continue to follow a market-based pricing model, using a ‘follow-the-market’ approach—so retail prices can go up or down.” A distributor of Moutai told Caixin Global’s reporters.

The 53-degree, 500ml Feitian Moutai is Kweichow Moutai’s most core product. Within the Moutai liquor range, it is considered a base product; analysts at securities firms expect its sales scale to be in the high hundreds of billions of yuan. The expected price increase should have a positive impact on Kweichow Moutai’s performance. “We estimate that the increased net profit will account for a low single-digit percentage of last year’s net profit.” A food and beverage analyst told Caixin Global’s reporter.

After the price increase of the 53-degree, 500ml Moutai liquor, will other Moutai liquor products also be raised—for example, the 53-degree, 1000ml Moutai (an industry slang term for “kilogram Moutai”)? In response, Caixin Global’s reporter learned that other Moutai liquors will also adjust in line with market supply and demand, following the market.

The timing of Moutai’s price increase is also drawing significant attention. Against the backdrop of soft consumption, the outside world interprets the company’s price increase as a “counter-cyclical” move. However, people close to Moutai said this submission was not an ad hoc decision; it is taking advantage of the momentum created by digital marketing results—also a key move by Moutai as it deepens reforms aimed at market-oriented operations.

On one hand, Moutai’s self-operated e-commerce channel—iMoutai—has been selling Feitian Moutai since it launched on the platform in January this year. Since then, the number of applicants has remained at a high level, daily sellouts continue, more than 14 million new registered users have been added, and nearly 4 million users have completed purchases. The expansion of direct channels not only helps Moutai reach more terminal consumers, but also obtains real market demand data, providing some data basis for price adjustments.

On the other hand, the industry is currently in the traditional off-season for liquor. However, during the off-season for consumption, the recent batch prices for Feitian Moutai have continued to rise. As of today, Moutai liquor’s batch price has risen to around 1660 yuan per bottle, creating a difference of more than a hundred yuan compared with the 1499 yuan per bottle self-operated retail price. In the off-season, batch prices do not fall but rise; to a certain extent, this provides Kweichow Moutai with confidence to raise prices during the off-season.

“Adjusting the Feitian Moutai price this time is based on a precise grasp of the market’s operating rhythm and the performance of the new channels, and it’s also another manifestation of following market rules.” Xiao Qingqing, an independent commentator on China’s liquor industry, told Caixin Global’s reporter.

(Caixin Global reporter Zhu Wanping)