"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?

Chinatimes.net.cn reporter Zhou Mengting Beijing reports

The liquor industry is once again experiencing major personnel changes. On March 10, “Second Largest Huijiu Brand” Yingjia Tribute Liquor (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 as general manager from Qin Hai, serving until the board reshuffled in September 2023, when Qin Hai was reinstated. Now, less than three years later, the two are switching roles again.

Behind this frequent reshuffling are the fluctuations in Yingjia Tribute Liquor’s performance. During Yang Zhaobing’s first five-year tenure, the company’s revenue jumped from 3.1 billion yuan in 2017 to 6.7 billion yuan in 2023, firmly establishing its position as the “second Huijiu brand.” However, after entering 2024, growth slowed significantly, and in 2025, the company entered a downward trend, with revenue and net profit both declining in the first three quarters. Currently, the overall white liquor industry is under pressure, and Yang Zhaobing’s return has become a market focus—can he lead Yingjia Tribute Liquor to regain growth?

Yang Zhaobing’s Return

With half a year remaining on his original term, Qin Hai, the general manager of Yingjia Tribute Liquor, 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 and executive general manager of the sales company in Anhui. Since March 2014, he has served as a director of Yingjia Tribute Liquor, 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 Tribute Liquor. 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 Tribute Liquor. 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 by 24.67% to 1.511 billion yuan. As a result, Yingjia Tribute Liquor has 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, the Intellectual Property Office invalidated all trademarks related to Yingjia Tribute Liquor’s Eco Dongzang Series in 2024. Even though Yingjia Tribute Liquor filed an administrative lawsuit, the outcome remained unchanged. On March 13, Tianyancha data showed that trademarks such as “Yingjia Liquor·Eco Dongzang” are invalid, and “Eco 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 ‘Eco Dongzang’ trademarks, there is an urgent need for growth from sales roles. Yang Zhaobing, a respected veteran in the alcohol sales industry, can help soothe terminal markets, 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, along with strategic adjustment needs. Strengthening sales breakthroughs, Yang Zhaobing’s appointment clearly aims to reverse the downward trend.”

Inventory Difficulties

Yingjia Tribute Liquor’s products mainly fall into mid-to-high-end and regular white liquor categories. In the first three quarters of 2025, revenue shares were 78.6% and 15.8%, respectively. The main brands of mid-to-high-end white liquor include the Dongzang Series, Jinxing Series, and Yinxing Series, while the regular white liquor brands include the Bai Nian Yingjia Tribute Series and simple-packaged series. In the first three quarters of 2025, sales revenue for both categories declined, with mid-to-high-end white liquor revenue dropping to 3.55 billion yuan, down 16.4% year-on-year.

Due to sluggish sales, Yingjia Tribute Liquor’s inventory has also risen sharply. In recent years, clearing inventory has been a key focus in the overall white liquor market. However, the company’s inventory has remained high, increasing by 13.9%, 11%, and 12.8% year-on-year 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 white liquor industry is in a deep adjustment period, with a cooling effect spreading across all levels of liquor 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 white liquor companies on the A-share market saw revenue and net profit decline year-on-year, indicating widespread industry pressure.

External industry winter and internal competition are intensifying. In the first three quarters of 2025, 71.7% of Yingjia Tribute Liquor’s revenue came from Anhui Province. In this major white liquor consumption province, Yingjia Tribute Liquor faces not only the pressure from top 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. Leading brands are lowering prices of core products to boost competitiveness, which transmits pressure down to regional brands like Yingjia Tribute Liquor. Competition within Anhui is fierce—Gujinggong’s squeeze and Kouzi Jiu’s catch-up have increased Yingjia’s pressure,” Ouyang Qianli explained.

At the same time, Yingjia Tribute Liquor itself faces many issues. Xiao Zhuqing analyzed that “Yingjia Tribute Liquor lacks initiative in brand IP development and consumer community activities. Its 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 Tribute Liquor remains a key question. On March 13, reporters contacted Yingjia Tribute Liquor about strategic adjustments and future priorities, and sent an email as requested, but had not received a response by press time.

Editor: Huang Xingli Chief Editor: Han Feng