Chinese beverage heiress Kelly Zong Fuli has been appointed as the chairman of the Hangzhou Wahaha Group, business registration information showed. 

Zong, daughter of Zong Qinghou, founder of beverage giant Hangzhou Wahaha Group, had resigned from the position of vice chairman and general manager after some shareholders questioned her ability to move the company forward. 

Chinese Heiress Returns

Apart from being the chairman of the company, Zong is also now the group's legal representative, president and general manager, taking over all the positions held by her father at the firm. 

Despite Zong's reinstation, a state-owned enterprise by the Shangcheng district government of Hangzhou, the city in Zhejiang province, still holds the majority stake in the group. 

It was after the death of the elder Zong that controversies surrounding the group's leadership got exposed to the limelight. 

At the time of his death, elder Zong handed over the baton to his only child, which created displeasure among shareholders of the group. 

Widely called the princess of Wahaha, the 42-year-old woman has spent two decades at the firm. She became the vice chairman and the general manager of the company in 2021. 

Sales Slump Behind Tussle? 

Graduated from Pepperdine University in the US, Zong has been widely involved in promotional and advertising campaigns of the group for several years. 

Moreover, Zong has her own brand of tea drinks named KellyOne, launched via the separate Hongsheng Group beverage and packaging service business. 

However, in 2022, sales of the company dropped by 35 percent to 51.2 billion yuan ($7.22 billion), compared to 2013. 

Her resignation in July sparked controversies after she cited shareholders' lack of trust in her leadership and differing views about Wahaha's growth path. 

However, within a week, she was back as the general manager of the group, after conducting "friendly negotiations" with shareholders.

The group currently has totally 36 subsidiary companies covering 16 provinces or cities in China. It has around 10 thousand employees, with a total assets of 4.4 billion yuan