
Many people question Moutai’s price hike, but not the price increase itself—what they question is raising prices during the off-season.
During the off-season, shipments are low, so it’s easier to control volume after a price hike, and any problems will have a smaller impact.
During peak season, increasing supply often pushes prices down, so raising prices and controlling volume in the off-season, then stabilizing prices and boosting sales in peak season is standard practice.
The price increase is small, but its significance is huge.
Based on past experience with Luzhou Laojiao’s price hikes, small, steady increases like slicing a sausage are the safest approach.
Consumers barely notice, market fluctuations are mild, and the policy can be reversed at any time if implementation runs into issues.
The impact of Moutai’s price hike on the industry: first, the darkest period for the industry is over.
Second, it opens up room for other companies to raise prices later.
Wuliangye benefits most directly.
With less pressure on Wuliangye, Luzhou Laojiao will also face less pressure, and this effect will spread step by step.
Will Wuliangye follow with a price hike? The answer is no.
But the pressure on Wuliangye’s Puwu will ease, helping its market price return to normal.
In this cycle, Puwu dropped from 920 yuan to 780 yuan; the bottom-line target is to rebound to 850 yuan.
If even that can’t be achieved, I really don’t know what to say.
If Puwu returns to 850 yuan, it will be roughly in line with the market price of high-end Guojiao, reducing pressure on Guojiao.
To be fair, Luzhou Laojiao got lucky this time—holding prices is indeed good for the brand.
But this must be done without a major drop in performance, and striking that balance is very difficult.
The economy hasn’t fully recovered yet, so we need to keep observing.
Some people predict 2027 will be the best time to invest in baijiu. Yeah, right.
I’ve said before that the market always trades on expectations ahead of actual performance.
By the time you hear the cuckoo call, spring is already long gone.
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