The 31-year-old Dong, a former teacher who gained fame and wealth in China’s live-streaming e-commerce sector, left his employer because of “career aspirations, commitment to his other pursuits and personal time arrangements”, Hong Kong-listed East Buy said in a filing on Thursday. Dong’s resignation is effective immediately.
As part of that departure, East Buy agreed to sell Dong’s namesake venture – called Time with Yuhui – to the influencer for 76.6 million yuan (US$10.5 million), according to a separate filing.
Following the disclosure of Dong’s departure, Nasdaq-listed New Oriental saw its shares fall by up to 8 per cent in pre-trading on Thursday. East Buy said it plans to buy back up to 500 million yuan of shares over a one-year period.
Dong’s departure shows the fragile relationship between Chinese e-commerce platforms and the major influencers behind popular live-streaming shows.
While top live-streamers are credited with attracting a large audience and driving online sales, e-commerce platforms are also looking to lessen their reliance on star talent.
East Buy would not have rapidly developed its business without Dong’s overnight success, Yu said in a statement on Thursday. He pointed out that the dispute with Sun created a rift in the partnership with Dong.
Dong has more than 26.4 million followers on Douyin, while his e-commerce live-streaming account Time with Yuhui has more than 21 million followers on the platform as of Thursday.