"One City, One Liquor" - Yingjia Gongju as a "Anhui Baijiu Sample" in White Liquor's Cold Winter: Four Consecutive Quarters of Declining Performance, Can a Management Change Shift Fortunes?

Sina Finance’s “Liquor Price Insider” Launches with Major Highlights: Know the Real Market Prices of Famous Baijiu

This report (chinatimes.net.cn) reporter Zhou Mengting Beijing reports

The Baijiu industry is once again experiencing significant personnel changes. On March 10, “Hui Liquor Second” Yingjia Gongjiu (603198.SH) announced that General Manager Qin Hai has resigned, and sales veteran Yang Zhaobing, born after 1975, has taken over as general manager. This is not Yang Zhaobing’s first time in charge—back in January 2018, he took over from Qin Hai as general manager, serving until September 2023 when the board restructured and Qin Hai resumed the role. Less than three years later, the two are switching positions again.

Behind these repeated personnel adjustments are the fluctuations in Yingjia Gongjiu’s performance. During Yang Zhaobing’s first five-year tenure, the company’s revenue surged from 3.1 billion yuan in 2017 to 6.7 billion yuan in 2023, successfully securing the position of “Second in Hui Liquor.” However, after entering 2024, growth slowed significantly, and in 2025, the company entered a downward trend, with revenue and net profit declining in the first three quarters. Currently, the overall Baijiu industry is under pressure, and Yang Zhaobing’s return has become a market focus—can he lead Yingjia Gongjiu to regain growth?

Yang Zhaobing’s Return

With half a year remaining in his original term, Qin Hai, the general manager of Yingjia Gongjiu, chose to resign. According to the announcement, Qin Hai’s original term was set to expire on September 8, 2026. His departure is due to work adjustments. After leaving, he will still serve as a director, member of the Compensation and Assessment Committee, and member of the Strategy Committee.

Yang Zhaobing, the successor, started from the grassroots and has extensive sales management experience. According to official information, Yang Zhaobing was born in 1976, has a technical college education, and previously worked as a workshop employee at Foziling Distillery, director of sales offices in Tongling and Hefei, regional manager of Anhui for the sales company, and executive general manager. Since March 2014, he has served as a director of Yingjia Gongjiu, and from December 2020 to March 2026, he has concurrently been general manager of the sales company. From September 2023 to March 2026, he has been vice president of the company, and now he is the general manager.

This is Yang Zhaobing’s second time serving as general manager of Yingjia Gongjiu. During his first tenure from January 2018 to September 2023, he led the company to rapid growth, increasing revenue from 3.138 billion yuan in 2017 to 6.72 billion yuan in 2023.

Now, Yang Zhaobing’s return reflects the current growth difficulties faced by Yingjia Gongjiu. Although the company maintained growth throughout 2024, signs of decline appeared in the fourth quarter, with revenue and net profit both decreasing. In 2025, this downward trend continued, with revenue in the first three quarters dropping 18.09% year-on-year to 4.516 billion yuan, and net profit decreasing 24.67% to 1.511 billion yuan. Yingjia Gongjiu has thus reported four consecutive quarters of decline.

Meanwhile, there are issues with the core product “Dongzang Series” trademark. According to market reports, due to a dispute with Linshui Distillery over the “Dongzang” trademark, in 2024, the Intellectual Property Office invalidated all trademarks related to Yingjia Gongjiu’s ecological Dongzang series. Even if Yingjia Gongjiu files an administrative lawsuit, the outcome remains unchanged. On March 13, Tianyancha data showed that trademarks such as “Yingjia Gongjiu·Ecological Dongzang” are invalid, and “Ecological Yingjia” is under rejection review.

“Qin Hai’s resignation and Yang Zhaobing’s appointment are likely reactive adjustments to the performance slowdown, aiming to stabilize the situation through the return of an experienced sales veteran and reverse the decline. Coupled with the recent invalidation of the ‘Ecological Dongzang’ trademarks, there is a greater need for sales personnel to grow. Yang Zhaobing, a respected veteran in the alcohol sales industry, can help soothe terminal customers, explain rebranding, clear inventory, and rebuild confidence,” said Ouyang Qianli, a researcher in the beverage industry, to Huaxia Times. Regarding this personnel change, Chinese consumer goods marketing expert Xiao Zhuqing told reporters, “The core background is performance pressure, and there is also a strategic adjustment need—strengthening sales breakthroughs. Yang Zhaobing’s appointment clearly carries the mission to reverse the downward trend.”

Inventory Difficulties

Yingjia Gongjiu’s products mainly fall into two categories: mid-to-high-end Baijiu and regular Baijiu. In the first three quarters of 2025, revenue shares were 78.6% and 15.8%, respectively. The main brands of mid-to-high-end Baijiu include the Dongzang Series, Jinxing Series, Yin Xing Series, etc., while the regular Baijiu brands include the Century Yingjia Series and simple-packaged series. In the first three quarters of 2025, sales revenue for both categories declined, with mid-to-high-end Baijiu revenue dropping to 3.55 billion yuan, down 16.4% year-on-year.

Due to sluggish sales, Yingjia Gongjiu’s inventory has also risen sharply. In recent years, one of the key focuses in the Baijiu market has been clearing stock. However, Yingjia Gongjiu’s inventory has remained high, with year-on-year increases of 13.9%, 11%, and 12.8% from 2022 to 2024, accounting for 39.9%, 38.1%, and 37.7% of total assets, respectively. In the first three quarters of 2025, inventory reached 5.105 billion yuan, up 1.2% year-on-year, representing 39% of total assets.

Currently, the Baijiu industry is in a deep adjustment phase, with the chill spreading across all levels of companies. Whether national or regional brands, most face growth bottlenecks. According to statistics, in the first three quarters of 2025, more than ten regional listed Baijiu companies on the A-share market saw revenue and net profit decline year-on-year, indicating the overall industry pressure.

External industry winter persists, and internal competition intensifies. In the first three quarters of 2025, 71.7% of Yingjia Gongjiu’s revenue came from Anhui Province. In this major Baijiu-consuming province, Yingjia Gongjiu faces not only the pressure from top-tier brands like Moutai, Wuliangye, Shanxi Fenjiu, Yanghe, Luzhou Laojiao but also competition from local listed brands such as Gujinggong, Kouzi Jiu, and Jinzhi Jiu. “Currently, the industry is under pressure from policy changes, economic fluctuations, and industry adjustments. Most leading brands are lowering prices of core products to boost competitiveness, which transmits pressure down to regional brands like Yingjia Gongjiu. Additionally, competition within Anhui is fierce—faced with the squeeze from Gujinggong and the catch-up efforts of Kouzi Jiu, Yingjia Gongjiu’s pressure has increased significantly,” Ouyang Qianli explained.

Meanwhile, Yingjia Gongjiu itself faces many issues. Xiao Zhuqing analyzed that “Yingjia Gongjiu lacks initiative in brand IP development and consumer community activities. External communication remains in a primitive state of ‘self-entertainment and self-satisfaction,’ and it is very passive in engaging with securities analysts. It lacks the transparency and openness expected of a publicly listed company, raising concerns about its development prospects.”

In this context, whether Yang Zhaobing, returning to the position for the second time, can break through the development bottleneck of Yingjia Gongjiu remains a key question. On March 13, the reporter contacted Yingjia Gongjiu regarding strategic adjustments and future development priorities, and sent an email as requested, but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Editor: Huang Xingli Chief Editor: Han Feng