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E-commerce
TechTech Trends

Alibaba scores a win with Taobao debut of China’s ‘most famous teacher’ as live-streaming e-commerce race heats up

  • Dongfangzhenxuan, led by New Oriental’s Yu Minhong, sold US$13 million worth of goods within 12 hours of its debut on Taobao, the company said
  • Taobao Live, which lost two of its top live streamers during a government tax crackdown, competes against Douyin and Kuaishou

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Yu Minhong (right), founder and chairman of New Oriental Education, cooks during a live stream on Taobao. Photo: Handout
Tracy Quin Shanghai

China’s most famous teacher-turned live streamer has set up shop on Alibaba Group Holding’s Taobao e-commerce platform, as internet giants in the country jostle to attract customers in a saturated market by bringing in popular influencers.

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Dongfangzhenxuan, the live-streaming brand of New Oriental Education & Technology Group led by former teacher Yu Minhong, made its debut on Taobao Live on Tuesday and sold more than 100 million yuan (US$13 million) worth of goods in the first 12 hours, according to a post on the brand’s Weibo account.

Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

New Oriental had been a cram school giant in China until mid-2021, when Beijing’s sudden crackdown against private tutoring for schoolchildren forced the firm to switch its business focus.

Dong Yuhui, who had been one of New Oriental’s English-language tutors, joined the company’s newly formed e-commerce live-streaming team and started pitching a range of goods on TikTok’s Chinese sibling Douyin.

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Viewers soon became drawn to Dong’s unique pitching style, which involves reciting poems, English phrases and musical accompaniment while attempting to sell books, cooking pans, steaks, shrimp and more.

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Former private tutors become top-selling live-streamers in China

Former private tutors become top-selling live-streamers in China
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