The worldwide economy has taken a drastic hit in 2020 following the impact of Coronavirus. It’s arguable that that China has suffered as has the rest of the world, acting as Ground Zero for the events that dominate our headlines. China now seems to be emerging from the COVID-19 nightmare – with baijiu manufacturers leading the charge toward economic recovery.
Wuliangye Yibin Co Ltd owns a major distillery based in the Sichuan province of China’s southwest. The business, best known for its eponymous Wuliangye strong aroma baijiu, has made significant investment into the foundations of the distillery. In excess of £1billion has been sunk into improving infrastructure, ensuring that the strong demand for baijiu from Chinese nationals will be matched by increased production capacity.
This is not just based on blind hope. Wuliangye Yibin Co Ltd is a successful business, not prone to spinning a roulette wheel. The company posted a strong financial performance for Q1 of 2020, all while China was gripped by the darkest hour of its modern history. In fact, profit margins actually expanded some 19% from the same period during 2019.
With this in mind, the substantial investment is part of a grand plan to speculate to accumulate. Much of the money has been funnelled into improving the technology at the distillery’s disposal, ensuring that manufacturing and retail models are at the cutting edge of the alcohol industry.
The President of Wuliangye, Li Shuguang, is confident that China’s ongoing economic recovery will see profits continue to swell by double-digit margins. Baijiu, it seems, is a bulletproof business model in China.
Naturally, this is good news for employees of Wuliangye Yibin Co Ltd. Li has promised that nobody affiliated with the business will lose their job or face economic hardship. In fact, this expansion is set to open doors to new opportunities – which, in turn, will create new jobs. That’s welcome news while the world stares down the barrel of a pandemic-provoked global recession.
Naturally, however, Wuliangye Yibin Co Ltd have bigger plans than mere domestic expansion. Baijiu remains a well-kept secret in China, rarely enjoyed in the western world. Li Shuguang is hoping that showing how seriously Wuliangye is taking their business model will encourage others to follow suit.
The long-term aim is to create an international-standard evaluation of baijiu construction measures and trade, ensuring that the spirit is not restricted by export laws and regulations. With this kind of financial muscle behind the project, and a promise of more investment and expansion to come, this will surely come to pass eventually.