Chinese luxury liquor maker Kweichow Moutai <600519.SS> will open a new e-commerce company this year after abruptly shutting its old one, as it pursues a revamp following the arrest of its former chairman.
The company's Moutai liquor is often served at official banquets and business dinners and has seen demand surge as China's burgeoning middle-class gets a taste for pricier drinks. Its fiery Feitian 53 baijiu sells for close to $250 per bottle.
In May of 2019, the company's former chairman Yuan Renguo was dismissed from his posts and expelled from the ruling Communist Party after being accused by the party's graft buster of offences including taking bribes.
Moutai's current chairman, Li Baofang, has launched a package of reforms with a focus on standardizing its extensive network of distributors at a time when demand for the company's liquor exceeds supply.
Local media outlets such as financial magazine Caixin have reported that Moutai's lucrative distribution business had been plagued with graft due to the high returns distributors could get from obtaining a license from the firm.
The company shut its e-commerce platform on 17
th Dec, without giving a reason.
In a meeting with distributors, Li said the company would relaunch a revamped version this year, according to local media such as the state-owned China Securities Journal.
Recent results reports show the liquor maker stopped cooperating with 607 dealers in 2018, and 597 more in the first half of 2019, cutting the total number of dealers to 2,415.
It also established a wholly-owned subsidiary sales office earlier in 2019 to sell directly to customers.
The Shanghai-listed firm has seen its share price almost double this year, making it one of the most expensive companies in China and the world’s most valuable spirits company.
Li said at another event with distributors that sales revenue had reached 100 billion yuan in 2019.
The company expects to sell 34,500 tons of Moutai in 2020, up 11% on 2019, according to a stock market filing.
茅臺將重組電商公司
中國奢侈白酒生產商貴州茅臺<600519.SS>在突然關閉舊的電子商務公司后，將在今年重新組建一家新的電子商務公司。
茅臺酒經常在官方宴會和商務晚宴上供應，隨著中國新興中產階級對高價酒品的喜愛，茅臺酒需求激增。其53度飛天茅臺每瓶售價接近250美元。
去年5月，茅臺集團原董事長袁仁國因受賄被免職并開除黨籍。茅臺現任董事長李寶芳已經推出了一攬子改革方案，著眼于在茅臺酒需求超過供應時標準化其廣泛的分銷網絡。
據當地媒體報道，去年茅臺利潤豐厚的分銷業務一直受到貪污的困擾，因為分銷商獲得公司的許可證后可以獲得很高的回報。
2019年12月17日，茅臺集團關閉了其電子商務平臺。隨后在經銷商會議上，李寶芳表示，將在2020年重新組建電子商務公司。
最近的報告顯示，茅臺在2018年停止了與607家經銷商的合作，在2019年上半年又停止了597家的合作，使經銷商總數減少到2,415家。
它還在今年早些時候建立了全資子公司，直接向客戶銷售產品。
茅臺2019年的股價幾乎翻了一番，使其成為中國市值最高的公司之一，也是全球市值最高的烈酒公司。
李寶芳在全國經銷商會議上宣布，2019年，貴州集團銷售收入達1000億余元。
預計2020年度銷售茅臺酒3.45萬噸，相比2019年3.1萬噸的銷售計劃約增加11%。
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