Abstract

This case describes the journey of Kweichow Moutai Co., Ltd. (KM) to becoming China’s biggest public company by market capitalization and to its key product Moutai becoming the world’s top liquor brand. The case starts out by delving briefly into the nearly 2,000-year-old history of Moutai that was used as a tribute wine by various Chinese dynasties. By the early 1950s, the entire production of Moutai was being done only through KM and it had come to be known as China’s ‘national liquor’. Though Moutai had always been renowned, the dramatic rise in its popularity in recent years was due to the marketing and branding strategies undertaken by KM from the 2000s. The case then touches upon the challenges that KM faced – supply shortages, counterfeits, and corruption scandals in its management ranks– that had the potential to adversely impact its carefully crafted brand image. In the present scenario, KM’s Chairman, Gao Weidong, was confronted with the dilemma of growing the company keeping in mind KM’s Moutai production limitations. He also had to think about ways to protect the brand image of Moutai and prevent it from being associated with bribery and corruption.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Create a luxury brand image through elements of marketing mix.
• Understand and manage brand equity.
• Sustain a brand for the long term.
• Scrutinize brand reinforcement activity.
• Determine strategic thrust and direction of the brand.

Keywords

Brand Characteristics; Luxury Brands; Marketing Mix; Brand Equity; Brand Image; Brand Management Process; Brand Building; Sustaining A Brand Long-term; Brand Architecture; Brand Reputation; Brand Loyalty; Brand Management; Brand Positioning; Potential Points-of-Difference; Points-of-Parity