At its 2025 annual shareholders' meeting in Chengdu, Sichuan Swellfun Co., Ltd. signaled a definitive shift in strategy, moving away from the industry's traditional obsession with scale toward a disciplined focus on 'channel health.' Led by General Manager Gan Xiaofeng and Chairman Fan Xiangfu, the management team addressed the ongoing structural adjustment in China’s baijiu sector, where a cooling macroeconomy and changing consumption patterns have left many premium brands grappling with high inventory levels and sluggish terminal sales.
The company’s leadership emphasized a transition to 'structural optimization' as a replacement for aggressive volume expansion. Under the guiding principles of 'balancing the foundation and deepening adjustments,' Swellfun is actively managing its supply pace to allow distributors to digest existing stocks. This conservative approach marks a significant departure from the previous era of 'dealer loading,' acknowledging that sustainable growth in the current climate depends on the financial viability of the retail ecosystem rather than headline-grabbing shipment figures.
To drive consumer demand, Swellfun is doubling down on high-impact consumption scenarios, specifically targeting the banquet and luxury tasting segments. Through its 'Dome Ten Thousand Stores' initiative, the company is attempting to forge more direct, systematic partnerships with terminal outlets, bypassing the inefficiencies of traditional multi-tier distribution. By integrating digital tracking—the so-called BC linkage—Swellfun reported a 25% year-on-year increase in bottle-opening scans in 2025, a key metric for verifying actual consumption over mere inventory movement.
Early results from the first quarter of 2026 suggest this defensive posture is beginning to bear fruit, with store-level sales growing by 5% and half of the provinces in its footprint achieving double-digit growth. While the broader industry remains in a period of 'deep adjustment,' Swellfun’s pivot suggests that the survivors of the current cycle will be those who can successfully bridge the gap between brand prestige and ground-level retail efficiency. The focus now turns to whether this localized recovery can be sustained as the premium spirits market continues its structural realignment.