Reinvention needed for baijiu makers

The products of Wuliangye Yibin Co Ltd, the maker of what's easily China's most prestigious and recognizable brand of baijiu (white spirits), recently announced a substantial price cut. It reduced the wholesale price of one of its most select brands, 52-proof Crystal Wuliangye, by almost 17 percent.

This isn't the first time in recent years that deep discounting of the Wuliangye baijiu brands and those of competitors such as Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd is taking place. Even in 2012, many of the more luxurious baijiu brands cut prices.

A rather inflated price bubble and a shift in customers' tastes from hard liquor to red wine are the most frequently cited reasons behind the price-cutting.