“The 1000 yuan price band is equivalent to the ‘threshold of famous wine club’. How can we not compete?” In recent years, under the high-end trend of Baijiu, major liquor enterprises have been competing to raise prices, aiming at the market with the price of 1000 yuan. In response to this phenomenon, a person from a liquor company told Caijing Tianxia weekly.
According to incomplete statistics, the official retail price of Baijiu products in the range of 1000 yuan has exceeded 20. Among them, Guizhou Maotai, Wuliangye, Luzhou Laojiao, Fenjiu and other national famous liquor enterprises are naturally the first to bear the brunt. The second and third tier liquor enterprises shede, Jiugui Liquor and Jinsha liquor industry are also unwilling to lag behind. Various flavor types such as thick, clear and sauce have appeared on the market, showing a state of a hundred flowers blooming and a hundred schools contending.
However, even though liquor enterprises have been raising prices in recent years, in the terminal market, “except for Feitian Moutai, the guiding significance of the terminal retail price of other liquor products is significantly greater than the practical significance, and the price inversion of some products is serious.” Some insiders lamented that “the threshold of the 1000 yuan price of Baijiu is much higher than expected”.
Under the wolf smoke, who will be the final winner of the 1000 yuan price band?
(source: Vision China)
A thousand yuan price belt, a must for strategists?
On July 20, Liu Qin, who was in charge of the sales of the high-end single product of Jiugui Liquor, received the “52 degree 500ml ginseng wine collection order” issued by the headquarters, saying that “in order to strengthen the concept of ginseng wine”, Jiugui Liquor collected the 2004-2015 production batches of ginseng wine from the vast number of ginseng wine collectors to exchange for 52 degree 500ml ginseng wine in 2022.
“This is a regular marketing activity for both old wine concept and vintage wine concept enterprises in recent years,” Liu Qin hurriedly forwarded the activity announcement to the circle of friends, “the purpose is to strengthen the brand of ginseng, and strive to make 52 degrees 500ml ginseng wine into the 1000 yuan price band.”
Liu Qin said that the event actually does not expect the collectors of ginseng old wine to really replace old wine with old wine, “they are not bad for that wine. The focus of the event is to convey the value and value-added attributes of the enterprise’s Ginseng old wine to the society, so as to achieve the purpose of jointly improving brand power and product prices.”
52 degrees 500ml naishen liquor is the main product of Jiugui Liquor to sprint the 1000 yuan price band. When Hunan naishen Liquor Sales Co., Ltd. was established in December 2018, Wang Hao, chairman of COFCO liquor and Jiugui Liquor Co., Ltd., said, “COFCO group is confident to build naishen liquor into the fourth largest high-end brand after Maotai, Wuliangye and Guojiao 1573.”
And how can it be called
For example, after the establishment of a sales company in 2018, neishen liquor immediately started a year long price adjustment.
In January 2019, the sales company of ginseng wine issued a price adjustment notice, announcing that the settlement price of 52 degrees 500ml ginseng wine will be increased by 20 yuan / bottle from March 15. In order to cooperate with the price increase, the sales company of neishen liquor decided to stop supplying to Hunan market in March. Hunan was the largest sales market of neishen liquor at that time, with a sales share of up to sixorseven percent. The control time was from March 19 to April 30. The purpose of the control was to stabilize and raise prices.
By the middle of April, the emergency announcement of neishen liquor continued to stop the supply, and a new notice of price increase was issued to adjust the retail guide price to the same level as Feitian Moutai, with a unit price of 1499 yuan, while the group purchase guide price was adjusted to 1350 yuan / bottle.
Five months later, neishen liquor issued the third round of price adjustment and goods control notice again. The quota price of domestic ginseng wine platform providers was slightly increased by 50 yuan / bottle, and the supply of Hunan market was stopped again.
(source: Vision China)
Luzhou Laojiao is also regarded as the “price king” in the industry. The market guide price of the company’s flagship product 52 degree Guojiao 1573 classic package was 869 yuan / bottle at the beginning of 2019, but by January 2021, its recommended retail price was 1399 yuan / bottle. It took only two years, and the price of each bottle increased by more than 500 yuan. Not only that, in recent years, the price increase range of Luzhou Laojiao products has also been extended from Guojiao 1573 to full price products.
Also supported by the goods control policy, Guojiao sales company issued a notice in January 2021, saying that in view of the fact that the quota of Guojiao 1573 in the first quarter of 2021 had been implemented, the company decided to stop receiving Guojiao 1573 orders from now on and cancel the quota planned for February. At the end of July, Luzhou Laojiao once again announced that it would stop receiving orders and goods from Guojiao 1573, hundred year old Luzhou Laojiao Jiaoling liquor and Luzhou Laojiao Tequ series.
Nowadays, Baijiu products priced at 1000 yuan are common in tobacco hotels, but “a few are happy and a few are worried. Baijiu products that can stand firm at the price of 1000 yuan are a few, and more are a bunch of Baijiu products that can’t stand firm at the price of 1000 yuan and make dealers complain endlessly”. A tobacco hotel operator told Caijing Tianxia weekly.
“Now, the price band of 1000 yuan can really stand firm, that is, Feitian Moutai, Wuliangye puwu, Guojiao 1573 and qinghualang”, according to the aforementioned business person, “for example, the recommended retail price of 52 degrees 500ml naishen liquor in the terminal market is 1499 yuan / bottle, and the dealer takes the price of 1030 yuan / bottle, but the actual market transaction price is about 900-1000 yuan / bottle. The dealer doesn’t make money at all, and if he meets the rejection, the price can be directly as low as 810-830 yuan / bottle.”
Maotai entered the market, and the 1000 yuan price brought the competition to a climax?
Seeing a crowd of brands competing for the 1000 yuan price band, big brother Guizhou Moutai also entered the market strongly.
In recent years, the price of Feitian Moutai has soared, sitting at 2500 yuan. Other series of liquor products such as Guizhou Daqu, Maotai
Today, the retail price of Moutai 1935 is still at the high level of 1800 yuan. “Most of the people who snapped up Moutai 1935 on ‘I Moutai’ also sold it directly after taking the goods, and not many of them really consumed it.” Some wine enterprise practitioners said.
(source: Vision China)
The fierce battle of liquor enterprises is still raging, and the dealers complain incessantly
Liquor enterprises compete for 1000 yuan price with great momentum, which can be used as the most important offline sales channel of traditional Baijiu, but dealers have difficulties.
As a Baijiu lover, Lao Li has to drink two liang of Baijiu for each of the other two meals except breakfast. But he said that he was more and more afraid to buy wine in the downstairs cigarette hotel. “Looking around, the number on the price tag could easily reach thousands. Although many wines may actually have a transaction price of less than onethousand, they can still bargain with the boss, but in the past year, the price of Baijiu has risen too fast.”
According to Lao Li’s recollection, the price of a box of wine can be bought in July 2021, and only four bottles can be bought in August. “In another month, the price may be just right to win three bottles of wine.”
The soaring price makes consumers doubt “whether it is worth spending so much money to consume such a bottle of Baijiu”. For dealers, they are also worried about “whether it will consume too much trust from consumers”. For example, previously, neishen wine tried hard to raise the price by a thousand yuan, but due to insufficient brand power, the market did not recognize it. Dealers, in order to withdraw funds without making money, “Only about 800 yuan can be dumped. From five to six hundred, to thousands, and then back to the price of 800, it may be just a few months. How can you make consumers trust this brand again?”
Not only that, in order to stabilize the price of 1000 yuan, all wine enterprises have done everything they can.
According to the relevant store operators of liquor convenience, when consumers enter the store to buy Baijiu products, they usually bargain on the amount of the price tag. Although liquor enterprises stipulate that stores are not allowed to sell at a price lower than the price tag, “in the past, it was mainly based on the actual sales of stores”. However, since the price has been raised by a thousand yuan in recent years, each strong liquor enterprise will specially arrange staff to enter the store pretending to be consumers and secretly visit whether the store sells liquor at the original price. Once found, they will be punished, “such a strong price increase has persuaded many consumers from the store.”
In addition, since the second half of 2021, the Baijiu consumption market has significantly turned cold. Many store staff said, “in the past two years, Baijiu prices have been rising continuously, with high frequency and large range. The promotion of enterprise brand and market deepening are not enough, and the terminal consumption power has been overdrawn in advance.”
In the face of the crazy price hikes of liquor enterprises, some Baijiu distributors lamented, “at present, in the market, except that Moutai can truly form an absolute strong position for dealers, which other brands do not need to rely on dealers to continue to expand their brands and market share?”
However, what the liquor enterprises can’t see through is, “whether a thousand yuan is actually not important to the dealers. The most important thing to sell liquor is to see the wind direction and profit. The most important thing is to truly lay down the market, make a brand, and let the enterprises and dealers make money together.
Maotai entered the market with a strong force, and Baijiu fought a fierce battle in the 1000 yuan price band
然而令人失望的是，“i茅台”上至今也没有53度500ml飞天茅台。最初可供消费者预约申购的产品，仅有53度500ml茅台1935、53度500ml贵州茅台酒（壬寅虎年）、一盒两瓶装53度375ml贵州茅台酒（壬寅虎年），以及53度500ml 贵州茅台酒（珍品）。至今年5月，才又补充上线了53度100ml飞天茅台。
彼时便有业内人士向《财经天下》周刊表示，“i茅台”上线的重心就是茅台1935，在白酒行业整体不断迈向高端化的趋势下，该产品“瞄准的就是五粮液普五第八代、泸州老窖的国窖1573等已站稳千元价格带的品牌酒”。
白酒千元价格带激战正酣，茅台1935的加入无疑为此又添了一把火。背靠“贵州茅台”的强大IP，茅台1935能否不战而胜？
“其实影响并不大”，有酒企从业人士向《财经天下》周刊直言，“因为茅台品牌相对特殊，在消费者眼中，茅台酒还是金融属性更高”。
如今茅台1935的市场零售价依旧位居1800元高位。“而大部分在‘i茅台’上抢购茅台1935的人，也大多是取了货直接转手就卖，真正消费的不见得多。”有酒企从业人士表示。
（图源：视觉中国）
酒企激战犹酣，经销商叫苦不迭
酒企竞逐千元价格带声势浩大，可作为传统白酒最重要的线下销售渠道，经销商们却有苦难言。
老李作为一名白酒爱好者，一天除了早餐之外，其余两顿每顿都得喝上二两白酒。但他表示，自己越来越不敢去楼下烟酒店买酒了，“放眼望去，价签上的数字动不动就上千了。虽然许多酒可能实际成交价到不了一千，能跟老板还还价，但过去一年，白酒价格实在涨的太快了。”
据老李回忆，2021年7月还能买到一箱酒的价格，8月份就只能买到4瓶了，“再过一个月这个价格可能也就凑合才能拿下3瓶酒。”
疯涨的价格让消费者怀疑“是否值得花这么多钱再去消费这样一瓶白酒”，对于经销商而言同样也担心，“是否会过度消耗消费者的信任”，如之前内参酒拼命挺价千元，但由于品牌力不够，市场不认可，经销商在赚不到钱的情况下，为了回笼资金，“只能800元左右甩货。从五六百，到上千，再回到八百的价格，可能也就几个月的事情，你让消费者如何再信任这个品牌？”
不仅如此，为了稳住千元价格，各酒企使出了浑身解数。
据酒便利相关门店经营人士透露，消费者进店购买白酒产品，通常都会在价签的数额上进行还价，酒企虽规定门店不允许低于价签价格卖，“但过去还是以门店实际销售情况为主”。但自近年挺价千元以来，各别强势酒企会专门安排工作人员假扮消费者进店，暗访门店是否按照原价卖酒，一旦查到还会被处罚，“这样强势挺价，使得门店劝退了不少消费者。”
再加上2021年下半年以来，白酒消费市场明显转冷，多位门店人员表示，“过去两年白酒不停涨价，频率高、幅度大，企业品牌提升和市场深耕都不够，终端消费力都被提前透支掉了。”
面对酒企疯狂挺价千元，有白酒经销人士感慨，“目前市场上，除了茅台真正对经销商能形成绝对强势地位外，其他哪个品牌不需要依靠经销商继续共同做大品牌与市场份额呢？”
但酒企看不透的是，“是否千元对经销商而言其实并不重要，卖酒最重要的还是看风向和利润。真正能踏踏实实铺市场，做品牌，让企业与经销商共同赚钱，才是最重要的。”
（文中刘勤为化名）
