Analysis of Kweichow Moutai's Distribution System Abolition and Channel Reform: Four-Dimensional Collaborative Sales Model and Digital Management Capability Development

Based on the latest market research and official announcements from Kweichow Moutai, I will systematically analyze the core requirements for Moutai’s channel management capabilities brought by the abolition of its distribution system.

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According to the 2025 Q3 report data, Kweichow Moutai’s wholesale and agency channel revenue reached 72.84 billion yuan, accounting for a high 56.7%, while the revenue share of iMoutai was only 9.9%[1]. The traditional distribution channel still dominates, which means Moutai’s sales lifeline is still in the hands of distributors[2]. In terms of channel profitability, the gross profit margins of the wholesale and agency channel and the direct sales channel in 2024 were 89.42% and 95.33% respectively. The gross profit margin of the direct sales channel is significantly higher than that of the distribution channel by about 6 percentage points[2], and this structural difference has become the internal driving force for channel reform.

In Q3 2025, Moutai’s revenue only increased by 0.56% year-on-year, and its net profit increased by only 0.48% year-on-year, both hitting the lowest quarterly growth points in the past decade[1][2]. Meanwhile, the company’s contract liability balance was 7.749 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 21.97%, hitting a new low in recent years[3]. As a “reservoir” for liquor companies’ performance, the change in the scale of contract liabilities directly reflects distributors’ confidence in the company’s future development, indicating that Moutai is in urgent need of stimulating market vitality and boosting channel confidence.

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Moutai clearly stated that starting from 2026, in line with the “one product, one strategy” approach, it will build a

relying on online and offline platforms[4]. This marks Moutai’s transformation from traditional channels dominated by wholesale and offline retail to an omni-channel layout covering wholesale, offline retail, online retail, catering, private domains, etc. The core of the reform lies in reconstructing the relationship with distributors — shifting from the past model where distributors were the channel backbone and relied on for market penetration and customer relationship maintenance, to a model that strengthens terminal control through direct sales platforms such as iMoutai[2].

Moutai clearly stated that it will “let product prices follow market trends” and promote volume-price balance based on market supply and demand[4]. Moutai Chairman Chen Hua emphasized: “Moutai will not do anything that violates market rules, nor will it let channel operators lose money, because a situation where only one party wins is unsustainable, and mutual benefit and win-win results can last longer.”[1] This statement aims to appease distributors, but the market reality is harsher — Moutai is transforming from the extensive model of “earning huge profits from a single bottle of liquor” to a model of “earning reasonable long-term profits through efforts across the entire product line and omni-channel system”[4].

Moutai will establish an evaluation system focusing on indicators such as operational capability, service level, and comprehensive strength to evaluate channel operators objectively, accurately, and fairly, guiding all parties to vigorously expand the market and focus on the essence of serving consumers[4]. It is worth noting that Moutai clearly stated that it will “not implement one-size-fits-all bottom elimination”, but instead incentivize innovative distributors, and excellent distributors can obtain the operation qualifications for premium, aged, and other Moutai liquor products[4]. This means that channel operators need to abandon the inertial thinking of “earning money without effort” and shift to deeply cultivating the market, creating value, and achieving “earning based on ability and speaking with performance”.

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On January 1, 2026, Moutai established a wholly-owned subsidiary “Guizhou AiMoutai Digital Technology Co., Ltd.” with a registered capital of 600 million yuan, led by core management personnel from the group’s digital information department and sales company[5]. This move indicates that Moutai’s channel reform points to deeper digital transformation and the construction of a direct sales system. As an important position for digital marketing, the iMoutai platform had accumulated 37.21 million registered users, an average of 4.96 million daily active users, and cumulative sales of 20.25 billion yuan as of March 2025[6].

In terms of terminal management, the phenomenon that the 1,499-yuan Feitian Moutai is “sold out in seconds” on iMoutai shows that Moutai is directly grasping the price benchmark and supply-demand regulator through daily limited releases via official direct sales channels[5]. This not only squeezes the speculation space of scalpers and distributors, forcing offline actual transaction prices to approach the official guide price, but also promotes the sales system to shift from relying on channel wholesale shipments to facing terminal consumers directly by collecting real consumption data, accelerating the process of channel flattening[5].

Moutai dynamically adjusts delivery rhythm based on market conditions through the method of “precise delivery + rhythm adjustment”, reducing distributor pressure and stabilizing market wholesale prices[4][6]. In December 2025, Moutai launched emergency volume control measures, including suspending the issuance of all Moutai products to distributors in December (except for those for which advance payments have been completed), to ease distributors’ year-end capital pressure and prevent panic selling[6]. This precise regulation capability requires Moutai to establish a sound market monitoring system to grasp terminal sales status, channel inventory levels, and price fluctuation trends in real time.

Moutai needs to implement targeted strategies based on consumers’ regional distribution and purchasing habits, and build a marketing channel network that complements online and offline, traditional and modern channels[4]. Terminals such as exclusive stores, direct-sale stores, and cultural experience halls should proactively solve problems such as “terminals not selling liquor, exclusive stores having no customers”, proactively sink to the market, focus on transformation in three dimensions: scenarios, customer groups, and services, and tap into new demands in consumption scenarios such as new economy, new formats, business consumption, and family banquets[4]. At the same time, Moutai clearly stated that it will make good use of existing e-commerce channels such as iMoutai, gradually introduce powerful, honest and compliant new e-commerce platforms, and encourage qualified channel operators to open authorized stores online to build an online channel network with wider coverage, more compliant operations, and more transparent information[4].

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The relationship between Moutai and distributors is entering a period of in-depth adjustment, and the cooperation logic between the two parties has gradually shifted from the past “bundled symbiosis” to “coexistence of collaboration and game”[2]. This transformation requires Moutai to have stronger management capabilities in the following aspects:

• Reconstruction of profit distribution mechanism
  : Abolish the distribution policy for high-value-added products, and it is expected to reduce the ex-factory prices of some products and match market policies to ensure that distributors obtain reasonable profit margins[7]
• Innovation of operation mode
  : Strengthen the circle cultivation capability of self-operated stores, implement consignment sales mode for flexible sales of non-standard products, and explore entrusted sales mode to expand the market[7]
• Optimization of product delivery
  : In accordance with the product structure optimization strategy, focus on developing three core products: Moutai 1935 (¥600+), Feitian Moutai (¥1,500+), and Premium Moutai (¥2,000+)[6]

Moutai clearly stated that it will “build a positive cycle of manufacturer-distributor collaboration”[4]. This means that a closer manufacturer-distributor cooperation mechanism needs to be established, including:

• Construction of an information sharing platform to realize real-time sharing of channel inventory, sales data, and market dynamics
• Planning of joint marketing activities to jointly expand consumption scenarios and market space
• Establishment of a risk-sharing mechanism to jointly respond to challenges during market fluctuations

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Kweichow Moutai’s channel reform of abolishing the distribution system puts forward all-round, systematic requirements for its channel management capabilities, covering multiple dimensions such as digital capability, precise regulation capability, ecological construction capability, and manufacturer-distributor collaboration capability. The core logic of this reform is to achieve “supply-demand matching and volume-price balance”, allowing Moutai liquor to return to its “consumer product” attribute from an “investment product”[1].

In the short term, price declines may lead to damage to brand value; but in the long term, the channel reform is conducive to the sustainable development of the Moutai brand. The key to whether Moutai can achieve a soft landing lies in whether it can find a new balance among consumers, distributors, and investors[1]. As the leading enterprise in the liquor industry, Moutai’s channel reform will also trigger a chain reaction in the industry and accelerate the channel reshuffle in the liquor industry[1].

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[1] Sina Finance - “Direct Hit on Moutai Distributor Conference | Let Product Prices Follow Market Trends, Abolish Distribution System, Launch Channel Survival of the Fittest” (https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2025-12-29/doc-inhemcnz0530989.shtml)

[2] Sina Finance - “Within a Month, Moutai Denied Rumors Again, This Time About ¥1,169!” (https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/s/2026-01-05/doc-inhffwpr8172599.shtml)

[3] NetEase Finance - “No More Artificial Price Control, Can Feitian Moutai Maintain the ¥1,499 Guide Price in 2026?” (https://www.163.com/dy/article/KI1A51V30522CRD0.html)

[4] Sina Finance - Report on Kweichow Moutai 2026 National Distributor Conference (https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2025-12-29/doc-inhemcnz0530989.shtml)

[5] 21st Century Business Herald - “Feitian Moutai ‘Sold Out in Seconds’ for Two Consecutive Days! Moutai Established a Digital Technology Company with Registered Capital of ¥600 Million” (https://www.21jingji.com/article/20260102/herald/606b0b6d07497414400bec4596145c63.html)

[6] Jinling Investment Research - Analysis Report on the Impact of Kweichow Moutai’s Channel Reform on Terminal Price System (https://www.gilin.com.cn/essence1226162.html)

[7] Eastmoney.com - Research Report on Kweichow Moutai (600519.SH) (https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H3_AP202601051815430375_1.pdf)