The revolving door of talent at East Buy, the livestreaming arm of education giant New Oriental, has accelerated into a mass exodus. Four core hosts—Mingming, Tianquan, Zhongcan, and Linlin—recently announced their departures, marking the end of the original cohort of star presenters. This wave of exits follows the high-profile departure of cultural icon Dong Yuhui, signaling a fundamental shift in the company’s DNA.
While the loss of charismatic talent has triggered a backlash on social media and a drop in follower counts, the company’s balance sheet tells a different story. In its most recent interim report for the first half of fiscal year 2026, East Buy reported a revenue of 2.3 billion yuan, a 5.7% increase year-on-year. More strikingly, net profit skyrocketed by nearly 347%, reaching 239 million yuan and proving that the firm can remain solvent without its former superstars.
The friction behind the scenes appears to stem from a clash of corporate cultures. Departing hosts have cited a shift toward a more rigid, “industrialized” management style that prioritizes efficiency over the intellectual and emotional connection that originally defined the platform. Under the leadership of executive president Sun Jin, the focus has moved from content quality and audience sentiment to hard metrics such as Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) and conversion rates.
Founder Yu Minhong is steering the company away from the volatile Multi-Channel Network (MCN) model, which relies on the whims of individual influencers, and toward becoming a vertically integrated product company. Self-branded items now account for over 86% of total revenue. By expanding into physical retail locations and healthcare products, the company is attempting to build a brand that survives on product quality rather than host personality.
However, this transition is fraught with risk as the platform’s “human touch” begins to fade. Paid membership numbers have already shown signs of stagnation, dropping from 264,000 to 240,000 in a year. Furthermore, supply chain controversies and quality control issues have begun to tarnish the "curated" reputation that the company spent years building. As East Buy enters the crowded field of discount retail and membership warehouses, it must prove it can offer more than just a standardized shopping experience.