Analysis of the Impact of Moutai's iMoutai Platform Direct Sales Share Increase on the Dealer System

The iMoutai App entered trial operation on March 31, 2022, and was officially launched on May 19, marking a new stage in Moutai’s channel reform. As the core carrier of Moutai’s self-operated e-commerce, the platform has become an important pillar of the company’s direct sales strategy. Data shows that the iMoutai platform’s sales in 2024 were approximately 20 billion yuan, and its sales in the first three quarters of 2025 reached 12.692 billion yuan [1][2].

On December 30, 2025, Moutai announced adjustments to its product matrix for 2026. The classic 53%vol 500ml Feitian Guizhou Moutai Liquor officially entered the iMoutai platform, adopting a daily dynamically adjusted release volume model, and forming a gradient price system from 2019 to 2026, with the 2026 new model using 1,499 yuan/bottle as the core traffic-driving price [3].

The share of Moutai’s direct sales channel revenue has shown a significant upward trend: it soared from 8.5% in 2019 to 45.69% in 2023 [1]. According to 2024 financial data, the operating revenue of direct sales business reached 74.843 billion yuan, accounting for 43.88% of main business revenue, forming a neck-and-neck situation with the wholesale channel [4][5]. In the first three quarters of 2025, direct sales channel revenue was 55.56 billion yuan, and iMoutai App revenue was 12.69 billion yuan; wholesale agency channel revenue was 72.84 billion yuan, accounting for approximately 56.7% [4].

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There is a significant gross profit margin difference between direct sales channels and distribution channels. 2024 data shows that the gross profit margin of the wholesale agency channel was 89.42%, while that of the direct sales channel was as high as 95.33%, a gap of nearly 6 percentage points [4]. The ex-factory price of Feitian Moutai is 1,169 yuan/bottle, and the direct sales price of 1,499 yuan/bottle can generate a price difference of 330 yuan per bottle, and this incremental profit is directly converted into company revenue [1].

With the volume release of iMoutai, the wholesale-retail price difference space for dealers has been continuously squeezed. Taking loose-bottle Feitian Moutai as an example, the wholesale price on December 31, 2025, dropped to 1,550-1,555 yuan/bottle, narrowing the gap with the 1,499 yuan guidance price to approximately 50-60 yuan/bottle [1][6]. This means that the speculation and speculative profit space for dealers has been significantly compressed.

If the iMoutai platform continues to release 100 tons per day, the annual shipment volume will reach 36,500 tons. In 2024, the total sales volume of Feitian Moutai was 46,400 tons, so iMoutai will account for approximately 79% of the annual sales volume [6]. This will have a huge impact on traditional dealers, and some dealers may face the dilemma of “no goods to sell” or a significant decline in sales volume.

From the perspective of channel revenue structure, in the first three quarters of 2025, the distribution channel revenue was 72.84 billion yuan, accounting for 56.7%; the direct sales channel (including iMoutai) revenue was 68.25 billion yuan, accounting for 43.3% [4]. Although the distribution channel still dominates, its share is being gradually eroded by the direct sales channel.

For a long time, the multi-level distribution system has led to price control problems for Feitian Moutai. Behaviors such as dealers hoarding goods to push up prices and scalpers stockpiling for arbitrage have disrupted market order. By directly connecting to the C-end, iMoutai forms a price anchor with the 1,499 yuan guidance price, effectively breaking the tradition of high-priced sales in the market and forcing dealers to reduce prices for large customers [1][3].

At the 2025 Dealer Conference, Moutai clearly implemented the “consumer-centric” transformation strategy, whose essence is to reach consumers directly, control pricing power and volume release rhythm, rather than relying on layers of dealers [6]. The price signal of iMoutai has become the market benchmark interest rate, which plays an important role in stabilizing price expectations and curbing speculative hype.

Traditional dealers are facing the challenge of repositioning their roles. Currently, dealers still have irreplaceable values such as localized services, offline distribution, and customer relationship maintenance. Moutai cannot completely abandon the dealer system in the short term [6]. However, against the background of the continuous increase in direct sales share, the dealer’s function will transform from “distribution volume” to “service value-added”.

In 2025, Moutai has taken measures such as canceling the distribution system and allowing dealers to apply for procurement independently, giving dealers room for adjustment in a “rest and recuperation” manner, while reducing the release of non-core products to protect the inventory value of dealers [5].

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The higher gross profit margin of direct sales channels is the core driving force for promoting channel reform. Every 1 percentage point increase in direct sales share means a larger proportion of channel profits return to Moutai. In the market environment where Feitian Moutai is in oversupply, direct sales volume release has become an important engine for maintaining profit growth [1][4].

Another important purpose of Moutai’s channel reform is to gain control of pricing dominance. Through the parity volume release of iMoutai, it can effectively curb irrational price increases in the market, prevent dealers from hoarding in disguised form for speculation, and reduce the risks brought by excessive financialization of liquor [6].

Against the background of weak overall sales in the liquor industry, Moutai enhances its ability to respond to market changes through direct sales channel construction. If the original distribution model is continued, forced stock pressure will only make dealers’ operations unsustainable, and even trigger turbulence in the channel system [5]. Direct sales channels provide Moutai with more flexible price regulation tools.

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In the short term, the volume release of iMoutai has limited impact on dealer sales, mainly because the 1,499 yuan price still has a price difference with offline channels (although the subsidy price of some e-commerce platforms has fallen below 1,499 yuan, most are purchase restriction measures). However, continuous volume release will push offline prices to move closer to the official price, compressing the living space of scalpers and speculators [6].

It is expected that the dealer system will show the following changes in the future:

• Quantity Streamlining
  : Small and medium-sized dealers without service capabilities may be eliminated
• Function Upgrade
  : Transform from distributors to service providers, undertaking functions such as distribution, warehousing, and customer service
• Profit Model Transformation
  : Shift from earning price differences to obtaining service commissions and terminal value-added benefits

Although the direct sales share continues to increase, the dealer system will still exist for a long time. Moutai needs offline channel resources in various regions to support brand coverage and service networks. According to the analysis of Shenshui Finance Agency, Moutai will never completely abandon the dealer system [6]. In the future, a dual-track parallel pattern of “direct sales + core dealers” may be formed.

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The increase in direct sales share of Moutai’s iMoutai platform is profoundly reshaping the dealer system. In the short term, dealers face multiple challenges such as profit compression, share loss, and function transformation; in the medium and long term, the role of traditional distributors will gradually weaken, and the function of service providers will be strengthened.

For Moutai, the core goals of channel reform are

. Direct sales channels have become the core engine of profit growth, and the popularity of iMoutai verifies consumers’ demand potential for parity-priced Moutai.

For the liquor industry, Moutai’s channel reform has demonstration significance. It is trying to switch from a “channel-driven” to a “consumer-driven” engine, and the results of its marketing reform will provide an important reference for industry development and reform [3].

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[2] RCCAI汉 - “2026茅台营销变阵，全力奔赴’市场化’” (https://m.rccaijing.com/news-7412031266541466893.html)

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[6] 新浪财经 - “100吨半小时秒光！茅台直营能打破经销商体系吗？” (https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/companyt/2026-01-02/doc-inheytmx3938472.shtml)