Not long ago, the ex factory price of Feitian Maotai (2026, 53 degrees 500ml) increased again. The reason for saying "you" is that three months ago, Kweichow Moutai (600519. SH) just raised the suggested retail price (usually the ex factory price) of Feitian Moutai from 1499 yuan to 1539 yuan per bottle. Now, the ex factory price of Feitian Maotai has increased by another 100 yuan on this basis.

It is the first time in history for Kweichow Moutai to raise the ex factory price of its core large single product twice in a short time. Those familiar with the Baijiu industry may have the same feeling about the development of the industry in recent years: continuous pressure. In 2025, the output of Baijiu has dropped to about 1/3 of that 10 years ago, and the number of liquor enterprises above designated size has shrunk from nearly 1600 in the peak period to more than 900. Except for Feitian Maotai, the transaction prices of mainstream high-end liquor brands have generally decreased by 5% to 15% compared to the beginning of the year. Many liquor companies have had little effect through conventional means such as controlling inventory and reducing task volume. In the capital market, the valuation of the Baijiu sector also continued to be under pressure.

Faced with the industry's howling, Feitian Maotai chose to raise prices against the trend, of course, with the practical consideration of increasing the profits of listed companies, but the signal significance behind this move for the industry is more worthy of attention.

Firstly, it needs to be clarified that the reason why Feitian Maotai can increase its price is due to its scarcity and the strong brand moat. For a long time in the past, Feitian Maotai had its own social currency and identity symbol attributes, brand accumulation, and consumer recognition, which resulted in its terminal transaction price being much higher than the factory price for a long time, leaving enough room for raising the factory price.

In fact, this is not the first time Feitian Maotai has raised its price. In the past 20 years, Feitian Maotai has raised prices 10 times, each time accompanied by consumer upgrades or industry prosperity. The particularity of this round of price increase is that, on the one hand, it is only more than a year away from the 2023 round of price increase; on the other hand - and more importantly, the overall consumer market is shrinking, and the Baijiu industry has entered a period of deep adjustment. If the previous price increase of Feitian Maotai was in line with the trend, this price increase is more like a resistance to the current deep "internal competition" in the industry.

The reason why Kweichow Moutai has to act is that it is no longer Kweichow Moutai's business. As the industry leader accounting for nearly half of the total revenue of Baijiu listed companies and more than 60% of the profits, Kweichow Moutai is the industry's well deserved price coordinate. Many liquor companies base their product pricing on the price of Feitian Maotai.

When the price of Baijiu is generally lower and the channel confidence is shaken, the price increase of Feitian Moutai means that the price ceiling of Baijiu products moves up. Throughout global business history, top brands with vitality such as Herm è s and vintage Lafite have always had price curves that cross cycles and continue to rise. If Feitian Moutai, the industry coordinate, also joins the price reduction force, what it will lose is not only the pricing power of the brand, but also the overall value coordinate system of Chinese Baijiu.

The lessons learned from China's new energy vehicles are right in front of us. The endless' price war 'may seem advantageous to consumers, but in reality, it sacrifices research and development, compresses supply chain profits, and may ultimately push the entire industry into an unsustainable quagmire at the cost of reducing product quality.

Feitian Maotai's price increase at this time is to maintain an upward benchmark for the entire industry. For consumers, it is recommended that the smaller the price difference between the retail price and the market transaction price, the more favorable it is for fair purchasing of alcohol; For distributors, an upward price expectation is necessary for channels to have confidence in purchasing and promoting products; For the industry, the pricing of Feitian Maotai is anchored to the hierarchical logic of the entire price range, leaving room for maneuver for sub high end and mid-range brands.

It must be acknowledged that raising prices is a difficult task in the current consumer environment. Enterprises need to withstand consumers' sensitivity to high prices and also resist short-term anxiety in the industry's downturn. It is precisely because of its difficulty that it is truly valuable. The price increase of Feitian Maotai is a respect for the laws of brand building and also a protection of the industry ecology.

Of course, there are also many different voices in the market: some dealers are watching and worried about whether the terminal can smoothly undertake it; Some consumers question whether it is timely to raise prices under economic pressure. The value of Feitian Maotai's price increase may need to be examined in a longer time dimension. But we still welcome Maotai's move and hope to see more liquor companies with brand heritage abandon the short-sighted thinking of exchanging price for quantity, and support reasonable premiums by improving quality and brand narrative. When more enterprises dare to move upward and inward, the Chinese Baijiu industry can come out of the deep adjustment.

(Author Zheng Yuxin)