On April 25, four popular hosts affiliated with EAST BUY—Mingming, Tianquan, Zhongcan, and Linlin—announced their resignations one after another. By April 26, the topic "#Four EAST BUY Hosts Announce Resignation on the Same Day" had surged to the top spot on Weibo's hot search list.
The four prominent hosts publicly declared their departures on the same day. In posts on their social media accounts, hosts including Mingming and Tianquan cited changes in the company's management and development philosophy as the reasons for leaving. Tianquan stated that over the past four months, shifts in the executive management team and alterations in company理念,直播风格, and workplace atmosphere had led him to question his reasons for staying. He expressed that his idealism often seemed out of place and that the value he created no longer appeared to align with the company's needs.
Mingming explained that following the arrival of new leadership, the company's overall live-streaming model and operational style underwent a complete transformation—a cultural shift he found difficult to accept. He noted feeling clear unfriendliness from the new management, which resulted in significant anxiety and internal conflict. Despite attempts to understand, adapt, and cooperate, he felt increasingly marginalized, leading to his decision to depart.
Both Mingming and Tianquan were early hosts at EAST BUY, having been deeply involved in the company's initial establishment and growth phases. Public records indicate that Mingming, whose real name is Shi Ming, is from Shangluo, Shaanxi, a graduate of Xi'an Jiaotong University, and a former physics teacher at New Oriental. Tianquan previously worked as a GRE trainer at New Oriental in Beijing for six years; he holds an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and a graduate degree from Columbia University, with 14 years of experience studying abroad.
In response to the collective departure of the hosts, Yu Minhong, the CEO, addressed the issue during a live broadcast. He revealed that he had held deep and sincere discussions with the four hosts in an effort to retain them, while also facilitating two-way communication with the management team to try to keep core talent. Yu publicly apologized for the disruption caused to users, fans, and the team by these personnel changes, acknowledging that the departure of the four excellent employees, who had grown with the platform, was a loss for the company.
Yu Minhong emphasized that the company fully respects the personal career plans and choices of its hosts. He stated that EAST BUY would conduct a comprehensive review of internal management issues following this incident. He admitted that after management adjustments, the company's approach had deviated, overemphasizing systemic control while neglecting team人文关怀, which led to problems in the team atmosphere. Moving forward, EAST BUY plans to optimize its management model, balance institutionalized operations with人文关怀, and address rigid, high-pressure management issues.
Furthermore, Yu Minhong assured that the departure of these core hosts would not impact EAST BUY's daily operations, product supply chain, or user service system, confirming that the platform would continue its live-streaming business as usual.
According to public information, since July 2024, several core hosts have left EAST BUY sequentially. Fans had previously referred to Dong Yuhui, Dundun, Mingming, and Tianquan as the "F4" live-streaming quartet of EAST BUY. In July 2024, top core host Dong Yuhui announced his departure and established a personal直播 account named "Yuhui Tongxing." Veteran host Jingwen left around the same time as Dong Yuhui. In June 2025, host Dundun announced his resignation.
On the evening of January 28, EAST BUY announced its interim results for the 2026 fiscal year. The financial report showed that for the six months ending November 30, 2025, the company's total revenue exceeded 2.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.7%. Excluding the total revenue generated by the Yuhui Tongxing live-streaming room, EAST BUY's total revenue increased by 17.0% compared to the six months ending November 30, 2024.
As of the close of trading on Friday in Hong Kong, EAST BUY's latest share price was HK$27.48 per share, down 1.08% for the day, with a market capitalization of HK$29.1 billion. Since the beginning of the year, EAST BUY's stock price has accumulated a gain of over 50%.
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