interface news reporter | Chen Huidong
is not in the capital market, but it frequently stirs up market turmoil. Recently, Xifeng Wine, one of the "Four Famous Wines" and a "monster maker", was sued by the well-known actor Huang Bo.
Tianyancha app information shows that the court hearing notice has been announced for cases involving disputes over name rights and portrait rights between Huang Bo and Zhensheng (Zhejiang) Trading Co., Ltd., Shaanxi Qinhuang Yuyan Xifeng Wine Marketing Co., Ltd., and Shaanxi Xifeng Wine Co., Ltd. The case was filed by Huang Bo as the plaintiff and is scheduled for a public hearing on March 6 at the People's Court of Dinghai District, Zhoushan City.
Jiemian News reporter called Xifeng Wine about this matter. A member of the company's management responded that the case had "nothing to do with Xifeng Wine. It was just a matter of going to court." Other information is not yet clear. Regarding previous market rumors that Xifeng Wine has negotiated backdoor transactions with Xi'an Catering (000721.sz), the above-mentioned management denied it.
The official website of Xifeng Wine also issued a statement on February 29, saying that Xifeng Co., Ltd. immediately launched an investigation into the reports of the "Huang Bo Litigation Incident" spread online. After verification, this incident has nothing to do with Xifeng Wine. It is an infringement dispute with the customer Shaanxi Qinhuang Imperial Banquet. Strict requirements have been made to the illegal distribution company. The responsibility must be identified and rectified immediately to resolutely prevent such incidents from happening.
Regarding the legal evaluation of this case, the reporter interviewed Liu Lufeng, a lawyer from Hubei Dexin Law Firm. Liu Lufeng believed that the court decided this case was a dispute over the right to name, and Article 1012 of the Civil Code determined the right to name. Protection means that natural persons enjoy the right of name and have the right to decide, use, change or allow others to use their names in accordance with the law, but they must not violate public order and good customs. Article 1014 stipulates that the right of name shall not be illegally infringed upon, including that the right of name of others shall not be infringed upon by means of misappropriation, counterfeiting, etc.; specifically in this case, 1. Huang Bo is a combination of two separate Chinese characters, which is different from "Xing Ye" and other specific names with a certain degree of popularity, no matter how many Huang Bos there are in the country, the word Huang Bo cannot be the special name of the plaintiff in this case, unless there are other factors that can jointly point to the Huang Bo used by Xifeng Wine as the plaintiff. Huang Bo, otherwise, the plaintiff in this case is not a qualified plaintiff; 2. It is said that the plaintiff alleged that the defendants used the wine name "Huangbo Xifeng", even if the plaintiff has evidence to prove that the defendants are trying to catch the hot spot of artist Huang Bo , unless the plaintiff can prove that "Huang Neck" is his stage name or pen name, for example, Lu Xun is Zhou Shuren, otherwise, the chance of winning if he sues based on his name rights is very slim; 3. For example, the manufacturer of "Huang Neck Xifeng" does not use Shaanxi Xifeng wine Co., Ltd., Huang Bo sued Shaanxi Xifeng Wine Co., Ltd., suspected of taking advantage of the traffic of Xifeng Wine Manufacturer. After all, Xifeng Wine is one of the four traditional famous wines in China and is more famous than Huang Bo; 4. The plaintiff in this case, as a well-known artist, passed It is the right choice to litigate to protect one's name rights in accordance with the law, but it may conflict with the reality that society requires celebrities to have more tolerance and greater humility. On the other hand, Xifeng Wine is already famous enough, and dealers want to use celebrities to expand sales, which always reminds people of buying a casket for a pearl; 5. This case has actually alerted Shaanxi Xifeng Wine Co., Ltd. to use OEM The way of operation is very uncontrollable. Liu Lufeng emphasized that the right to name cannot be used fraudulently, but the right to sue cannot be abused either.
As one of China’s four famous wines, Xifeng Wine has had a bumpy road to market. At the end of 2018, Xifeng Wine, which was deeply involved in the plasticizer controversy, announced that it would withdraw its IPO, announcing the failure of its fourth attempt to go public.
An internal staff member of Xifeng Wine Company previously admitted in an interview with Jiemian News that backdoor sales have become the only possible channel for Xifeng Wine to go public. The reason is: amidst the chaos of hundreds of private label wines, the profit share of Xifeng Wine’s own brands is low. A clear question has been raised about the company's profit development prospects.
This time, due to the dealer's lawsuit, the negative impact of the OEM wine on Xifeng Wine's own brand also confirmed the uncontrollability of the dealer's development of agent wine, and exposed the problems existing in Xifeng Wine's internal governance, brand management, etc. .
However, although Xifeng Wine is not in the capital market, it has frequently become the "demon stock maker" of the Shaanxi A-share sector. At the end of 2022, Xi'an Catering (000721.sz), a 3-fold monster stock, achieved great success due to rumors of "wine company backdooring". Stocks such as Qujiang Cultural Tourism (600706.sh), Xi'an Tourism (000610.sz), Global Printing (002799.sz), Shaanxi Gold Leaf (000812.sz) have repeatedly received funds for speculation, and Xifeng Wine is also behind them .
The theme of "wine company backdoor borrowing" is full of imagination, but after the hype, all that is left is nothing more than feathers.
On January 6, at the Xifeng Wine 2023 Global Distributors Conference, Zhang Zheng, Party Secretary and Chairman of Xifeng Wine, announced that in 2023, Xifeng Wine will achieve sales revenue of 10.34 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23%.
However, the threshold for first-tier wine companies has already risen to 20 billion. Kweichow Moutai (600519.sh) dominates the competition with its revenue of nearly 150 billion yuan, and the operations of wine companies such as Yanghe Shares (002304.sz), Shanxi Fenjiu (600809.sh), and Luzhou Laojiao (000568.sz) Revenue has already exceeded 20 billion yuan.
A local liquor retailer in Xi'an told Jiemian News that the sales volume of Xifeng Liquor in the store has not improved much in the past two years. "The main products are Xifeng Six-Year-Old, Twelve-Year-Old, and Huashan Lunjian series, which focus on low-end prices. It is mainly used for banquets, and it is difficult to break into the high-end liquor team."
