New Wuliangye Leader: From Chemical Giant to Liquor Titan, Igniting Digital Channel Revolution

On June 8, 2026, Wuliangye Group held a leadership meeting where Deng Min was introduced as the new Party secretary and director, ending a three‑month vacancy caused by the investigation of former chairman Zeng Congqin. Deng previously led Tianyuan Co., a state‑owned chemical firm that pursued a "one‑core, two‑wings" strategy, boosting its lithium‑iron‑phosphate output by 99.19% in 2025 and generating 112.99 billion CNY in the new energy segment.

Deng's emphasis on continuous innovation—"Only sustained innovation can break resource dependence and build long‑term advantage"—is now being applied to the liquor sector, where traditional channel practices rely heavily on brand history, dealer networks, and inventory stocking.

Wuliangye's 2025 financial correction reduced reported revenue from 609.45 billion CNY to 405.29 billion CNY (a 54.55% drop) and net profit from 215.11 billion CNY to 89.54 billion CNY (a 71.89% drop). The company explained the change as a shift from "shipment‑based" to "terminal‑sale‑based" revenue recognition, a move that demands real‑time tracking of end‑consumer sales.

To address this, Wuliangye has deployed a "five‑code integration" (瓶、盖、箱、垛) system that links product identifiers from production to consumption, enabling three core capabilities:

Real‑time flow control: Scanning at terminals and by consumers monitors over 500,000 stores, cutting cross‑stocking by 40%.

Online channel management: The entire chain—from production, warehousing, dealer inbound/outbound, to terminal sales and verification—is digitized, providing transparent, instantly uploaded data.

Precise rebate allocation: Rebates are now tied to actual bottle openings, raising fee reach from 50% to 99%.

In April 2026, Wuliangye invested 100 million CNY to establish Sichuan Yibin Wuliangye Digital Marketing Co., covering software development, data processing, and storage, marking a transition from channel control to precise user operations.

Organizationally, the company dissolved its brand division in 2025, consolidating 27 marketing regions into three zones and creating shareholder‑linked subsidiaries to align dealer incentives with the brand.

Deng's cross‑industry experience brings three strengths to the digital overhaul: decisive industry transformation capability, a technology‑driven mindset focused on cost reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency, and deep familiarity with state‑owned enterprise governance, all crucial for coordinating cross‑departmental digital initiatives.

Industry analysts note that fast‑moving consumer goods firms that have embraced digital channel reforms, like Wuliangye's five‑code system, show stronger resilience; during the 2026 Spring Festival, sales growth of 8‑12% and dealer inventory reduction to roughly two months were reported.

The overarching lesson for the FMCG sector is that the era of "stock‑push‑rebate" is ending; future competitiveness hinges on three digital capabilities: real‑time terminal sales visibility, precise channel cost distribution, and data‑driven production‑sales alignment.

Ultimately, whether Wuliangye can sustain this digital momentum will test if digital transformation is a strategic necessity rather than an optional choice for traditional giants facing structural headwinds.