Chapter 119: An Invitation from Maotai (Requesting Recommendation Votes)

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Lu Kun officially began his work at the new headquarters of Huakun Supermarket in Nanming City.

To be honest, the commute was incredibly inconvenient. Lu Kun was already making plans to move again. There was no way around it; with his home in Gui'an and his work in Nanming, traveling back and forth was a nightmare. Even with a dedicated driver, the commute took five to six hours. Spending most of his day on the road was truly exhausting.

Lu Kun was reviewing data reports submitted by his subordinates. After verifying the figures, he scribbled his signature on the approval lines.

"What is it? Is something the matter?" Lu Kun looked up, surprised to see Sun Bowen knocking at his office door.

"Boss, a Mr. Ji Keliang from the Kweichow Moutai Distillery has sent an invitation to Huakun Supermarket. He hopes you can find the time to visit the distillery and provide some guidance," Sun Bowen said cautiously.

Lu Kun’s pen paused. He frowned and asked, "Are you joking? We are a retail distributor, not a liquor producer. We’re complete outsiders; what kind of guidance could we possibly offer?"

Sun Bowen smiled. "I suppose he’s anxious because our high-end liquor shelves are currently stocked with Wuliangye and Hengshui Laobaigan."

Once Sun Bowen put it that way, it clicked for Lu Kun. Huakun Supermarket had grown into a significant entity. If all their stores stopped stocking Moutai, the brand’s retail sales in the Angui region would plummet.

Lu Kun recalled a famous business adage: "Tomorrow, it won't be your competitors who defeat you or your peers who disrupt you; it might be an outsider from a different industry!"

For instance, the sharp decline in the sales of Master Kong and Uni-President instant noodles in the future wasn't caused by rivals like Baixiang or Jinmailang, but rather by food delivery platforms like Meituan and Ele.me. Similarly, the massive slump in the chewing gum market wasn't caused by competitors like Yida, but by WeChat. The most crucial consumption scenario for gum was at supermarket checkout counters, where customers would impulsively grab a pack while waiting in line. Once WeChat arrived, everyone spent their time scrolling through their Moments instead.

Seeing that Lu Kun was deep in thought, Sun Bowen didn't dare to press further. He gently placed the invitation on the desk and quietly backed out of the room.

Lu Kun set down his pen and lit a cigarette from his pocket. When it came to Moutai, the name was legendary to many in the future. With a market capitalization in the trillions, annual sales reaching tens of thousands of tons, and expansion into 78 countries to become a world-class brand, the list of accolades was blinding. Even when the price of two taels of Moutai reached that of a gram of gold, buyers still flocked to it.

Although Moutai was not yet the powerhouse that would eventually claim the title of "National Liquor," its brand influence was already formidable. It was, after all, the same liquor Premier Zhou used to entertain Nixon. Compared to such a titan, Huakun Supermarket was at best a large ant.

Fortunately, the Moutai of today was not yet the unstoppable behemoth of the future. The liquor market was fiercely competitive, with Wuliangye, Langjiu, Hengshui Laobaigan, Jiannanchun, and Luzhou Laojiao all vying for dominance. Wuliangye, in particular, was the industry leader in commercial terms, even if it hadn't reached its peak. While Moutai had consistently won gold medals before the late 1980s, the tides had turned, and Wuliangye had overtaken it. The coming years would be the most glorious era for Wuliangye.

Moutai was having a difficult time. In Guizhou alone, there were forty-eight notable liquor enterprises. Its attempts to expand externally were met with fierce, joint resistance from groups like Langjiu, Hengshui Laobaigan, Jiannanchun, and Luzhou Laojiao.

Huakun Supermarket’s restructuring of the retail landscape in Angui province had significantly impacted Moutai's sales. Having achieved initial coverage across high, mid, and low-end retail, Huakun appeared poised to dominate the entire Angui market, which had drawn the attention of the Moutai Group. While Moutai primarily partnered with high-end catering enterprises in Angui, retail sales still accounted for a significant share. Should Huakun become a major distributor, Moutai’s regional sales would undoubtedly surge.

In previous years, Moutai might have looked down on the Angui market, but the situation had changed. With Wuliangye towering over the industry and Hengshui Laobaigan locking down the northern market, Moutai’s avenues for growth were limited.

Lu Kun decided that while he would eventually grant Ji Keliang the courtesy of a meeting, now was not the time. He resolved not to visit Guizhou until Huakun had solidified its dominance in the Angui retail market. To negotiate now would be to enter from a position of weakness, resulting in unnecessary concessions.

He instructed the operations department to draft a polite refusal, citing reasons like his upcoming move and his wife’s pregnancy.

To the average person, Ji Keliang might be an obscure name, but among Chinese entrepreneurs, he was a mythical figure. He had first become the director of the Moutai Distillery in 1983, only to step down shortly after. He would be reappointed in March of this year—1991. Given that it was only the fifth day of the New Year, Lu Kun suspected this invitation was part of Ji Keliang’s preparation for his return to power. By securing a partnership with Huakun, he could cement his authority and suppress the old guard at the factory.

Lu Kun looked forward to meeting the man known for having the "most expensive nose in the world." This future leader of a trillion-dollar group was a visionary who maintained a laser focus on his product. Beyond standard channel expansion and marketing, he largely ignored the management trends favored by his peers. That he had taken notice of Huakun Supermarket was, in itself, a validation of the company's strength.

Cultivating a relationship with such a figure would yield immense benefits for both Lu Kun and his company. By 1992, Ji Keliang would be named an "Outstanding Entrepreneur in China's Food Industry," and in 1995, he would be honored as one of "China’s Top Ten Business Leaders." If Huakun could market itself as a designated strategic partner of the Moutai Group, it would reap massive rewards—a classic, brilliant move akin to how brands leveraged the popularity of the Olympics to elevate their own prestige and drive sales.