In the high-stakes theater of Chinese e-commerce, a public apology often serves as the final act before a corporate divorce. Yu Minhong, the venerable founder of New Oriental and its livestreaming offshoot East Buy, recently sat before his audience to confess management failures, yet his tears failed to prevent the exodus of four core anchors. This departure marks a definitive rupture in a company that transitioned from the ruins of the 'Double Reduction' policy to a multibillion-dollar livestreaming giant.
The departing veterans—Mingming, Tianquan, Zhongcan, and Linlin—were more than just employees; they were the architects of East Buy's survival. In 2021, when New Oriental’s tutoring empire collapsed under regulatory pressure, these former teachers pivoted to selling agricultural products with a poetic, intellectual flair. Their success was built on an emotional contract, a shared history of surviving hardship that resonated deeply with a Chinese public weary of transactional sales tactics.
However, the introduction of a new CEO, Sun Jin, signaled a shift from this 'sentimental governance' toward a rigid, institutionalized framework. Sun, a former school principal steeped in New Oriental’s traditional vertical management, brought a focus on KPIs, strict attendance, and standardized processes. In his eyes, the anchors were not irreplaceable creators but rather 'lecturers on an assembly line' whose individual influence needed to be curtailed.
This strategy, often referred to as 'de-IP-ization,' stems from a deep-seated anxiety within the leadership following the public spat with former star anchor Dong Yuhui. Yu Minhong appears haunted by the risk of any single individual becoming larger than the platform itself. By attempting to mimic the model of warehouse clubs like Sam’s Club, the company aimed to make consumers loyal to the products rather than the people selling them.
The failure of this pivot lies in a fundamental misunderstanding of the livestreaming medium’s value proposition. While a retail giant like Sam’s Club relies on a decades-old supply chain moat, East Buy’s primary differentiator was its human warmth and intellectual character. By stripping away the 'personality' to prioritize a sanitized, corporate-led storefront, management effectively cut down a forest to make way for a manicured, but lifeless, garden.
Historical parallels provide a sobering perspective on Yu’s leadership style, echoing the classical struggle between the Han Dynasty’s founder Liu Bang and his rival Xiang Yu. Like Xiang Yu, Yu Minhong is described as having 'womanly compassion'—the kind of leader who cries for his subordinates in their presence but hesitates to grant them real power or institutional security. When the moment comes to distribute the 'seals of authority,' he holds onto them until the edges are worn smooth, unwilling to truly share the spoils of victory.