On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, the brand “National Flower Porcelain” under the well-known Chinese liquor brand “Xifeng Liquor” caused controversy online by inviting the controversial figure “Dashimao” Sima Nan to attend the “2024 National Flower Porcelain Mid-Autumn Tang Dynasty Banquet” brand event. Some netizens criticized the organizers for engaging in “suicidal marketing”, leading to a backlash against Xifeng Liquor, and the brand was even labeled as “compromised liquor.”
In a video of the event, Sima Nan dressed up as the “Poet Immortal” Li Bai, reciting Li Bai’s poetry at the dinner of “National Flower Porcelain” under Xifeng Liquor and toured the Xi’an Great Tang All Day Mall, inadvertently even performing a “street dance.”
Some netizens expressed their opinion on social media, stating that Sima Nan’s image and product culture do not align with that of Xifeng Liquor, and he should not have been invited as a guest for the event.
According to a post on NetEase, many netizens criticized Sima Nan for his habitual negative behaviors such as being an “anti-patriot, performer, and two-faced person,” as well as his poor performance at the box office and problematic endorsement deals, questioning how someone like him could be the star of the “Tang Dynasty Banquet.”
There were also remarks suggesting that the organizers were engaging in “suicidal marketing,” equivalent to adding three thousand tons of melamine to the wine. Many netizens declared they would no longer drink Xifeng Liquor and even vowed not to visit Xi’an again.
As public opinion intensified, Xifeng Liquor’s livestream platform was flooded with users expressing their boycott, leading to the brand being associated with the label of “compromised liquor.” Subsequently, Xifeng Liquor restricted the comment function on all videos in their livestream platform.
Public information shows that Sima Nan, whose real name is Yu Li, is known for his extreme anti-American rhetoric. Mainland Chinese netizens have dubbed Sima Nan, along with Hu Xijin, Kong Qingdong, and Wu Fatian, as the “Four Great Fifty Cent Party Members” of the Chinese Communist Party. Some netizens mockingly remarked, “Opposing the United States is his job, immigrating to the United States is his way of life.” Sima Nan had previously publicly admitted to purchasing property in the United States ten years ago, sparking anger from certain groups and labeling him as a “two-faced person.”
In response to the online public opinion, according to a report by the Daily Economics News, on September 19th, Xifeng Liquor’s official WeChat account issued a notice specifically outlining the regulation of marketing activities for its various subsidiaries, distributors, and suppliers.
The notice required that marketing and brand operation companies must implement a written reporting system for all marketing activities, which must be reviewed and approved by the marketing promotion department of the marketing management company before implementation. Experts, scholars, important leaders, cultural celebrities, and internet influencers invited to activities must align with the “core socialist values.”
The WeChat public account of “Xifeng Liquor” is managed by Shaanxi Xifeng Liquor Marketing Management Co. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shaanxi Xifeng Liquor Co. Ltd.
Xifeng Liquor, along with Maotai, Fenjiu, and Luzhou Laojiao, was awarded the title of the first National Prestigious Liquor and collectively known as the “Four Famous Liquors.” Baoji State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and Shaanxi Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission respectively rank as the largest and second-largest shareholders of Xifeng Liquor.
The recent public relations crisis for Xifeng Liquor was actually caused by its distributors. In fact, this is not the first time Xifeng Liquor has had to “clean up the mess” left by its distributors.
According to a report by “Xinhuanet,” the well-known actor Huang Bo previously sued Xifeng Liquor and two distributors, Zhensheng (Zhejiang) Trading Co., Ltd., and Shaanxi Qinhuang Yuyan Xifeng Liquor Marketing Co., Ltd., for violating his name and image rights. Subsequently, Xifeng Liquor issued a statement claiming that this incident was related to a trademark dispute involving its customer, Shaanxi Qinhuang Yuyan.
Behind the repeated efforts to “clean up” for the distributors, flaws in Xifeng Liquor’s OEM model are becoming apparent. According to incomplete statistics, the number of OEM liquors under Xifeng Liquor reached as high as 2,000, earning it the title of the “Antarctic person of the liquor industry.”
Xifeng Liquor has faced setbacks in its IPO journey. It attempted to go public in 2012 but failed due to financial fraud and internal management disputes. In 2016, due to fluctuations in performance and executive financial violations, Xifeng Liquor’s IPO was derailed again.
In 2017, during Xifeng Liquor’s third attempt at an IPO, it was embroiled in a “corruption scandal,” with former General Manager Zhang Suoxiang and former Deputy General Manager Gao Bo sentenced for corruption and bribery. Distributors Hao Hailu and Ding Jimin were also sentenced for bribery to obtain original shares, causing the company to miss the listing opportunity again.
After a year, Xifeng Liquor made another push for an A-share listing. However, just before the IPO, it was revealed that one of its vintage wines exceeded the plasticizer limit by three times, leading to another unsuccessful listing attempt.