Flying Moutai Sells Out in Shanghai, Distributors Don't Expect More Until April
Dou Shicong
DATE:  Nov 01 2017
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Flying Moutai Sells Out in Shanghai, Distributors Don't Expect More Until April Flying Moutai Sells Out in Shanghai, Distributors Don't Expect More Until April

(Yicai Global) Nov. 1 -- A supply shortage of Flying Moutai, the flagship liquor made by Kweichow Moutai Co. [SHA:600519], is in short stock through Shanghai, with some outlets reporting they won't have more for another six months.

Even after vendors lifted the typical CNY1,299 (USD196) price tag to CNY2,000, shoppers have still bought out almost every bottle in the city.

Sales quotas have been met ahead of schedule, so suppliers will have to wait until the company unveils a new delivery plan next year, online news outlet The Paper reported today, quoting a Shanghai dealer as saying. Moutai may not be available in the city before April, the report added.

Kweichow Moutai strictly limits distributors' markups and will be dispatching investigators to check transaction records and ensure companies haven't inflated their prices beyond the maker's threshold. With local retailers all out of stock, Shanghai consumers will need to buy online from other regions or turn to the consumer-to-consumer market, where prices are skyrocketing.

Rising sales of Flying Moutai has seen the company's net income rise to CNY19.98 billion (USD3.02 billion) through the first three quarters of this year, up 60.3 percent from the same period in 2016. The company pulled in CNY8.73 billion in the third quarter alone and expects revenue of CNY30 billion for the whole year.

Flying Moutai's base liquor is five-years aged. Chinese consumers' rising spending power has seen a leap in sales recently, leading to a supply shortage, one distributor said, adding that he anticipates the liquor maker will hike prices again soon.

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Keywords:   MSCI,Shanghai,Liquor,Alcohol,Food And Beverages,Flying Moutai