While selling its products openly on one hand and pushing up prices on the other, what hidden agenda is concealed in Moutai's seemingly self-contradictory dual tactics?

When daily subscription replaces the previous "rush to buy on the 9th of every month" rule, a public notice from iMoutai signals that Moutai is stepping back from its long-running hunger marketing strategy, attempting to decouple product value from financial speculation and return to the essential attributes of consumer goods and social goods. Meanwhile, offline self-operated stores have raised the retail price of Feitian Moutai six times within the year, reaching 1766 yuan per bottle.

On one hand, continuous supply increase online is bursting the scarcity bubble; on the other hand, dynamic price support offline is reshaping the price benchmark. This combined strategy of "controlling supply volume online and managing price offline" is gradually taking back the terminal pricing power from market speculation and channel stockpiling to the headquarters. In the view of alcohol industry insiders, this marks that Moutai's price management has officially stepped into the era of refined operation from the past rigid price increase mode. However, the cost and pain of this reform are first borne by the more than 2,000 distributors across the country, the partners it once relied most on.

Strategic Intent

From Financial Game to Consumer Equity

On September 8, iMoutai released a notice stating that starting from September 9, 2026, 6 products of Feitian 53%vol 500ml Guizhou Moutai (with cup) of 2019-2024 vintages will be adjusted from the previous release on the 9th, 19th and 29th of each month to regular daily release, available for purchase at 09:00 and 20:00 every day.

The core of this adjustment lies in accelerating the de-financialization of products. Over the past few years, vintage Moutai has become a target chased by capital due to its definite scarcity expectation, and the practice of cornering the market and rampant scalpers have seriously distorted the real price signal.

From three days per month to two purchasing sessions per day, the supply tap is being continuously turned on. This move fundamentally shakes the market psychology of "hard to get one bottle" and hits the expectation of speculators who hoard goods for price rise. When purchasing opportunities are equalized, the premium space of Moutai's financial attributes will be greatly compressed.

"This move is not just about selling vintage liquor. The core is to build an official price benchmark for sub-new liquor, divert social inventory, squeeze the space for speculation and arbitrage, and push Moutai to return to its consumer product attributes. At the same time, it will improve the iMoutai product matrix, form a differentiated division of products with traditional distributors, and force channels to transform into service providers. However, the supply scale is limited, the focus is on guiding the market, and filtering scalpers to ensure real consumption is the long-term key," alcohol industry analyst Xiao Zhulei told Sister of FMCG.

At present, the Baijiu industry has entered an adjustment period of "superposition of three phases" (declining output, consumption downgrade, and high inventory), and the demand for business banquets and gift giving has cooled down significantly. Moutai must adapt to the fundamental change of market supply and demand, shift from the arrogance of the seller's market to the pragmatism of the buyer's market, and actively seek connection with real consumer demand.

Channel Reform:

Retake Pricing Power and Reshape the Benefit Cake

Daily supply increase is the tactical implementation of Moutai's 2026 strategy of "market-oriented transformation, quality improvement and efficiency enhancement", and its deep influence points to the redistribution of channel power. But advancing simultaneously with the supply increase is another seemingly independent but closely linked front - dynamic price adjustment of offline self-operated stores.

On the same day, multiple media reported that Moutai's self-operated stores raised the retail price of Feitian Moutai to 1766 yuan per bottle, which is the sixth price adjustment within the year, only one month apart from the last one. Core products such as 1kg Moutai, Five Star Moutai, and Year of the Horse zodiac liquor rose synchronously, while 43%vol Feitian Moutai and 50ml small Moutai gift boxes fell slightly.

What is more noteworthy is the price adjustment mechanism itself. Staff of self-operated stores said that this price adjustment follows the principle of "pricing in line with market conditions" and has been uniformly implemented in all self-operated stores across the country, which means Moutai is bidding farewell to the long-term unchanged market guidance price model in the past and turning to dynamic, high-frequency market-oriented pricing. The price of Feitian Moutai on iMoutai remains at 1639 yuan per bottle, forming a price difference of 127 yuan with the 1766 yuan in self-operated stores.

The regular supply of iMoutai is responsible for bursting the scarcity illusion of "hard to get one bottle" and filtering speculative demand; the dynamic price adjustment of self-operated stores is to establish a new and more real price anchor for products after the speculative bubble is squeezed out. The former manages "volume" and the latter manages "price". The two work together with the same goal - to take back the terminal pricing power from market speculation and channel stockpiling to the headquarters.

In this regard, Xiao Zhulei further analyzed to Sister of FMCG that the retail price of iMoutai products has not been adjusted at present, the retail price of iMoutai products is in line with the market circulation price, the retail price of self-operated store products is in line with the market retail price, all products are fully open to the public for sale, which further amplifies the role of reach and drainage, and achieves win-win results.

Cai Xuefei, another alcohol industry analyst, gave a judgment from the perspective of industry cycle. He believes that the current Baijiu industry is in a window period from stopping the decline and bottoming out to improving sales performance. Moutai replaces the rigid price increase that used to take place once every few years with small and structured price adjustments in self-operated stores, which not only avoids impacting the channel price system, but also further takes the pricing discourse power back from the circulation link to the manufacturer. This also means that Moutai's price management has officially entered the era of refined operation.

As Moutai's direct sales channel, iMoutai's strategic position has been raised to an unprecedented level. In the first half of 2026, the iMoutai platform achieved tax-free liquor revenue of 40.264 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 274.18%, accounting for 43.63% of the company's total operating revenue. Through direct control of terminal supply, Moutai Group is able to bypass layers of distributors, directly perceive the market pulse, and gradually retake the terminal pricing power disrupted by market speculation.

It is worth noting that this move is no different from dropping a depth charge into the traditional distributor system. The era of "easy money" relying on information asymmetry and quota advantages in the past is coming to an end. The continuous supply of low-price Moutai will directly squeeze the profit space of distributors in the circulation link, forcing them to transform from "relationship-based" intermediaries to "service-oriented" terminal merchants, and provide more valuable consumer experience.

Multi-dimensional Impact on Distributors

The impact of this channel revolution on the distributor group is profound and multi-dimensional, which is mainly reflected in the following aspects.

A "scissors gap" is formed between the retail price increase and the ex-factory price increase. Moutai is exerting pressure simultaneously from both the terminal and the source ends.

On the terminal side, the retail price of self-operated stores is raised to 1766 yuan per bottle, and iMoutai remains unchanged at 1639 yuan per bottle. The dual-track system of stabilizing price online and supporting price offline has taken shape. What does this mean for distributors? In the past, distributors were one of the main makers of market retail prices. Now Moutai directly sets a price benchmark through self-operated channels, and distributors' discourse power in terminal pricing is further weakened - consumers have an official price reference system, making it more difficult for distributors to sell at markup.

On the source side, the increase of contract price (ex-factory price) is more direct. Since 2026, for Feitian Moutai produced in 2026, the contract price has been raised for many times, from 1169 yuan per bottle to 1269 yuan per bottle, and then to 1369 yuan per bottle. This asymmetric price increase strategy of "more ex-factory price increase and less retail price increase" systematically compresses the price difference space between ex-factory price and terminal retail price.

The combined force formed by the dual-track price system and asymmetric price increase is essentially a systematic recovery of Moutai's profits from distributors: the retail side takes back the price leading power through self-operated pricing, and the source side takes back the excess channel profits through ex-factory price increase. The compression of profits directly leads to a drastic reshuffling of the distributor system. In the first half of 2026, the number of domestic Moutai distributors decreased by 46 net, including 266 exiting and 220 newly added. The revenue of wholesale and distribution channels decreased by 21.58% year-on-year. The transfer price of Moutai franchised stores also clearly reflects this trend: the store transfer fee that used to be millions or even tens of millions of yuan has been greatly discounted now.

Overall, the three consecutive adjustments of ex-factory price and the continuous support of terminal retail price form a double squeeze on distributors' profits, and the regular supply of iMoutai compresses the space for them to hoard goods for arbitrage from another dimension. The three forces acting on the traditional distribution system at the same time are pushing it from the past "excess profit channel" to the new normal of "low-profit service".

It is necessary to clarify the boundary that this regular listing of Feitian on iMoutai only targets the 6 sub-new Feitian products of 2019 to 2024 vintages, the 1499-yuan new Feitian is not open for unrestricted purchase, and distributors still hold the core quota, so the impact is structural and gradual rather than cliff-like. The fact that 2025 vintage Feitian has not been listed on iMoutai so far is exactly the "blank space" deliberately reserved by the manufacturer for traditional channels. The introduction of consignment sales mode is an extension of this trend - distributors are transforming from "cargo owners" to "service providers", with lighter assets and lower risks, but the profit space is also systematically compressed.

However, it is worth noting that once the "router" role of traditional channels fails due to extrusion, the loss of terminal sales in regional markets and the connection with high-net-worth groups will eventually backfire on Moutai's own price system and reputation.

Subtle Game of Manufacturer-distributor Relationship:

Balance between Appeasement and Determination

Facing the pain and rebound of the distributor group, Moutai's management is walking on a tightrope carefully.

On the one hand, appeasement and coexist with commitments. The company has appeased the distributor group on many occasions, emphasizing that iMoutai is not for diverting resources and competing for benefits, but a tool to assist distributors in converting customers and realizing transformation. Wang Li, Deputy Party Secretary of Moutai, also publicly stated that the relationship between online and offline is not opposite and game, but collaborative and symbiotic, and distributors need to speed up adapting to the new situation and transform to "channel partners".

On the other hand, the determination of reform is unswerving. From canceling distribution, to regular listing of Feitian on iMoutai, to promoting the implementation of consignment sales mode, every step is eroding the existing interests of traditional distribution channels. This reform has brought many visible changes to Moutai's business ecosystem, and the statement emphasized by Chen Hua at the National Distributors Friendship Meeting that "we want distributors to make money, but there will no longer be excess profits" has set the tone for this game.

However, Xiao Zhulei also mentioned that according to the survey, Moutai agents in Henan and Sichuan have begun to get involved in the agency of Kuaijishan Rice Wine. The expansion of Guizhou Moutai's direct sales channels and the market share of iMoutai's direct sales has essentially begun to squeeze the market share and living space of Moutai agents in traditional channels, and many traditional Moutai agents have begun to prepare for retreat.

"The management of Guizhou Moutai should not ignore the role of traditional Moutai agents as a capital reservoir and the 'router' role of connecting internal institutional resources and high-net-worth people in various regional markets. Moutai can not have today's market status by abandoning the traditional channel agents who have made great contributions," Xiao Zhulei said.

This article is from Sister of FMCG, author: Li Ping, editor: Wang Xiaoming, published with authorization from 36Kr.