From capital acquisitions to cross-regional industry restructuring, Jiangkou Chun and Xiao Jialou may once again enter a "highlight moment".

The Daily Economic News Reporter: Liu Mingtao    Editor: Ye Feng

In the vibrant month of March, within Tianfu Agricultural Expo Park in Xinjin District, a brand-new narrative about “liquor” is gradually unfolding.

On March 23rd, Chengdu Rongjiu Liquor Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Rongjiu Company”), which was established less than half a year ago, made its first public appearance at the 114th National Sugar and Alcohol Commodities Fair, hosting a dedicated event for the liquor industry. Not only did they prominently announce their strategic layout and flagship product, but they also officially unveiled the latest progress of the highly anticipated cooperation in the Chengba production area—Rongjiu Company and Xiaojian Company jointly inaugurated projects including the national sales headquarters, production base, and inspection and testing center.

Long before Rongjiu Company was founded, industry rumors suggested it planned to acquire Jiangkouqun and Xiao Jialou enterprises. Just prior to this event, Rongjiu Company had completed registration of Sichuan Xiaojian Liquor Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Rongjiu and state-owned enterprises in Bazhong. This indicates that the cooperation between Chengdu and Bazhong’s two major production areas has evolved from mere asset acquisition to industry collaboration and coordinated development.

So, how will Chengdu and Bazhong explore a win-win path around Jiangkouqun and Xiao Jialou? Can they revive their former glory and drive the regional liquor enterprises to develop in a stepwise manner? With these questions in mind, reporters visited Jiangkouqun and Xiao Jialou distilleries before the Spring Festival, seeking answers through conversations with industry veterans and company leaders.

Once a Highlight: Export Revenue Exceeded One Million USD, Initiated Listing Plans

By the end of 2025, rumors circulated that Rongjiu Company intended to acquire Jiangkouqun and Xiao Jialou, the “small flowers” of Sichuan liquor.

Just before the Spring Festival, a reporter from Daily Economic News traveled to Pingchang County, Bazhong, to visit Jiangkouqun and Xiao Jialou factories.

Nestled by mountains and water, this was the first impression the reporter had of Jiangkouqun’s facility.

“The company is located in the western section of the Daba Mountains, with the Ba River and Tong River winding around here, and over 70% vegetation coverage. The unique mountain and river microclimate, combined with high-quality water resources, create an unparalleled brewing environment.” As the reporter delved deeper into the factory, staff enthusiastically introduced Jiangkouqun’s advantageous geographic and ecological conditions.

Despite being close to the Spring Festival, the factory remained busy. In the warehouse area, finished liquor branded with “Jiangkouqun” was stacked into continuous “liquor mountains.”

Gou Tao, a factory manager, explained that Jiangkouqun currently holds a reserve of 10,000 tons of raw liquor, which is not only a core guarantee of product quality but also a vital confidence in meeting peak market demand and supporting long-term brand development.

Veteran employee Chen Gang (pseudonym), with over 20 years of experience, recalled the past to Daily Economic News. After the public-private partnership in 1955, the former distillery transformed into the state-owned Pingchang Distillery; later, to access nearby Nantai Spring water, the distillery moved to the foothills of Nantai Mountain, near Nantai Shixia (now the site of Jiangkou Town Liquor Road). In 1986, the “Jiangkouqun” brand once enjoyed nationwide fame.

After 2000, Jiangkouqun experienced several equity changes. In 2000, the company was restructured as a state-controlled enterprise, and the following year, it became a state-participated enterprise. In 2002, Jiangkouqun Group was officially established, achieving revenue surpassing 12k yuan that same year.

Starting in 2009, Jiangkouqun entered its golden era. Its products sold well across more than 20 provinces and cities in southern and eastern China, and even exported to Korea, Japan, and other countries; that year, production and sales reached 12k tons, with sales exceeding 350 million yuan and total profits of 160 million yuan. Although sales dipped to 280 million yuan the next year, sales of mid-to-high-end liquor increased by 135% year-on-year, and exports surpassed one million USD, expanding into markets such as Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Malaysia.

As for Xiao Jialou, it is undoubtedly a deeply ingrained classic memory symbol for many liquor enthusiasts. As early as 2006, Xiao Jialou was awarded the “China Well-Known Trademark.” In 2012, a significant turning point occurred—Chengdu Yuanhong Group completed its restructuring, and Sichuan Xiao Jialou Liquor Co., Ltd. was officially established.

In subsequent years, the company’s business scope and production scale continued to expand, and it began to layout the national market. In 2015, Xiao Jialou further leveraged the unique forest ecological resources of Pingchang to initiate the construction of an ecological white liquor industrial park. The park covers 1,000 acres, with an annual designed capacity of 30k tons.

With this strong momentum, Xiao Jialou launched preparations for an initial public offering in 2017, establishing the brand positioning of “Chinese Forest Active Liquor.”

In 2019, Jiangkouqun and Xiao Jialou were both selected as “Ten Small Flowers” of Sichuan liquor, further consolidating Bazhong Pingchang’s position as a core area in northeastern Sichuan.

Cycle Adjustment Leads to Silence: Revenue Falls to 20 Years Ago, National Expansion Plans Stalled

As with industry cycles, corporate development also faces periodic challenges.

After 2010, Jiangkouqun underwent several equity adjustments. In 2010, Jiangkouqun Group publicly listed 34.39% of its shares for transfer, which were ultimately acquired by a consortium of 26 individuals for 58 million yuan. In 2020, the company restructured again, becoming a city-owned enterprise controlled by Bazhong State-owned Capital Operation Group, and was renamed Sichuan Jiangkouqun Longding Liquor Co., Ltd.

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 not only hindered Jiangkouqun’s planned “harmonious white liquor” new track but also disrupted Xiao Jialou’s nationwide expansion plans.

The first phase of the ecological white liquor industrial park, with a total investment of 3 billion yuan, covers over 1,000 acres, with more than 8,000 fermentation pits, an base liquor capacity of 30k tons, and a supporting raw material planting base of 100k acres. Although completed and put into operation that year, it failed to achieve the expected “production-driven sales” effect.

By 2023, China’s liquor industry was gradually entering a phase of deep industry adjustment, making survival and growth for small and medium-sized liquor companies increasingly difficult. As “small flowers” of Sichuan liquor, Jiangkouqun and Xiao Jialou inevitably faced development difficulties.

Data shows that in 2024, Jiangkouqun Longding Liquor’s revenue was only 102 million yuan, with a net loss of 11.7184 million yuan. Back in 2002, the company’s revenue had already exceeded 30k yuan.

According to a relevant person in Jiangkouqun, the overall operation remains stable. Besides the core markets in Sichuan and Chongqing, it also holds a certain share in South China, Jiangsu, Tianjin, Henan, and other key markets. The current main product lines include Long Liquor series, Chunhe series, and Da Jiang series, mainly targeting mass-market prices. Overseas cooperation still exists but is not a core business segment.

In contrast, Xiao Jialou’s white liquor industrial park expanded again in 2023, with plans to increase capacity sharply to 8,000 tons that year, but negative incidents also occurred.

“Over the past two years, the company has been profitable, and the staff team remains stable,” said Liu Fengke, chairman of Xiao Jialou Liquor. He noted that last year’s revenue grew by single digits compared to 2024, with profits increasing nearly 30%, mainly due to strategic adjustments toward nationwide expansion. The company shrank its low-margin or marginal markets, focusing marketing efforts on local markets and key regions such as Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei, and Henan.

Currently, their core product remains the traditional Jinxin series, priced between 100 and 200 yuan; high-end products mainly target the local market. The tourism and hospitality projects, accounting for less than 10% of total revenue, are valued for market cultivation and brand promotion, according to Liu Fengke.

Chen Lei, deputy secretary-general of the Sichuan Liquor Industry Association and a seasoned industry expert, believes that the current situation of Jiangkouqun and Xiao Jialou is influenced not only by external industry trends but also by internal management issues.

“Industry insiders often say that the white liquor industry has a ten-year cycle; Jiangkouqun may have missed the last one,” Chen Lei said, suggesting that this is likely related to management and strategic choices. For example, their product layout targets the 600-800 yuan or even above 800 yuan price segments, but neither brand influence nor channel capabilities have clear advantages.

Xiao Jialou also missed critical timing. Now, the white liquor industry has shifted from an incremental growth phase to a stock competition stage. “If they had completed capacity expansion before 2020, the situation might have been very different.”

Reconstruction of Cross-Regional Industry Chains: The “Small Flowers” May Reclaim Glory

Early last year, the governments of Chengdu and Bazhong reached a cooperation agreement on promoting regional coordinated development, with liquor industry collaboration listed as a key focus.

In November of the same year, Chengdu Industrial Investment Group Co., Ltd. and four other state-owned enterprises jointly established Chengdu Rongjiu Liquor Co., Ltd. The company positioned itself as “leading the development of the regional liquor industry and promoting industry upgrading,” aiming to transform Chengdu’s liquor industry from “regional concentration” to “brand leap.”

Three months later, in February 2026, Rongjiu Company and Bazhong’s state-owned enterprises jointly established Sichuan Xiaojian Liquor Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Xiaojian Liquor”). From the company name, it appears to encompass the two local “small flowers” of Sichuan liquor, but it is understood that Xiaojian Liquor has only completed the integration of Jiangkouqun, while Xiao Jialou is still in negotiations.

The establishment of Xiaojian Liquor will implement a collaborative model of “headquarters + base,” “R&D + manufacturing,” and “brand + capacity” into governance and equity, deeply integrating Chengdu’s brand operation advantages with Bazhong’s brewing base strength. This is not a short-term project cooperation but a long-term industry community; it’s not just resource stacking but a cross-regional industry chain reconstruction.

Regarding the cooperation model of Xiaojian Liquor, industry expert Xiao ZhQing told Daily Economic News that this is no longer a simple “acquisition” rumor but a leap from asset acquisition to an industry community model—an innovative practice in the deep-water stage of the white liquor industry’s stock competition.

Behind this, however, lies a strategic chess game between Chengdu and Bazhong’s two major production areas.

Industry insiders point out that from a broader macro perspective, this cross-regional industry chain reconstruction is a vivid microcosm of current regional economic cooperation. As the provincial capital, Chengdu possesses core advantages in capital, talent, market, and brand operation; while Bazhong, in northeastern Sichuan, has unique resources such as land, ecology, and brewing bases. Through equity cooperation and deep governance integration, resource allocation can be optimized, unleashing a “1+1>2” synergy.

“From the overall pattern of Sichuan liquor development, deep cooperation between Chengdu and the northeastern (Bazhong) production area is definitely beneficial,” Chen Lei analyzed. As the only provincial capital liquor region nationwide, Chengdu has irreplaceable advantages in technological R&D, innovative talent, and consumer markets. In an era where industry competition focuses on consumption scenarios, these advantages will become even more prominent.

In the views of Chen Lei, Xiao ZhQing, and other industry figures, the collaborative development of Chengdu-Bazhong liquor industry has pioneered a new model for Sichuan and even China: the central city focuses on brand building and market expansion, while the hinterland city deepens base construction and capacity assurance, forming a virtuous ecosystem of “policy support, state-owned traction, enterprise participation, and regional benefits.”

On March 23rd, at the event site, Rongjiu Company and Xiaojian Company jointly unveiled the national sales headquarters, production base, and inspection and testing center, marking a key step forward in brand building, capacity layout, and quality control.

Daily Economic News also noted that during the signing ceremony held simultaneously, multiple financial institutions including Chengdu Bank and Chengdu Rural Commercial Bank participated. It is reported that the current agreement is a framework cooperation, with future plans to provide comprehensive financial services and diversified financial support, improving the industry financial ecosystem. This will support capacity construction, technological transformation, and market expansion for regional liquor companies through mechanisms such as investment and financing docking, risk mitigation, industry funds, and supply chain finance innovation, exploring financial products and services tailored to industry development.