Oriental Selection (01797.)HK) recently announced the removal of Mr. Sun Dongxu as an executive director and chief executive officer, and Mr. Yu Minhong as the chief executive officer, and the appointment of Mr. Sun Dongxu as a non-executive director. This high-level change has attracted the attention of the market, and the share price of Dongfang Selection has also fluctuated.
Oriental Selection is the renamed brand of New Oriental**, mainly engaged in live broadcast e-commerce business, featuring knowledge-based anchors, involving food, clothing, beauty, home appliances, alcohol, scenic tickets and other categories. Dongfang Selection's live broadcast room has more than 30 million fans on the Douyin platform, making it one of the most popular live broadcast e-commerce companies in China.
The success of Dongfang's selection is inseparable from its anchor Dong Yuhui. Dong Yuhui is a senior teacher of New Oriental, and with his profound knowledge and humorous style, he has attracted a large number of audiences and has become the master of Oriental selection. It is reported that Dong Yuhui's live broadcast room has sales of more than 10 million every day, and sometimes it can even reach 100 million.
Sun Dongxu is the driving force behind Oriental Selection, and he became the executive director and CEO of New Oriental ** in August 2019, responsible for the company's strategic planning, operation management, financial supervision and other work. Sun Dongxu, a graduate of Nankai University majoring in computer science and technology, joined New Oriental in 2007 and has served as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in Tianjin, Hefei, Xi'an, and other places, and has served as vice president of New Oriental China since 2016.
Under the leadership of Sun Dongxu, New Oriental** completed the transformation from education and training to live broadcast e-commerce, successfully built the brand of Dongfang Selection, a knowledge-based live broadcast e-commerce, and officially changed its name to Dongfang Selection in March 2023. In the past year, Dongfang Selection's performance has achieved explosive growth, and its share price has also risen from HK$4 in June 2022 to HK$75 in February 2023, an increase of up to 25 times.
However, Sun Dongxu's brilliance did not last long, and soon after Dongfang Selection's stock price reached an all-time high, he began a large-scale ** behavior. According to information from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Sun Dongxu on February 7 and 8, 2023, with 55HK$6 and HK$56The average price of 9 Hong Kong dollars, a total of 3.86 million shares of Oriental Selection, cashed out 21.7 billion Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to 1 yuan8.8 billion yuan. This move sparked speculation in the market, with some people believing that Sun Dongxu was accepting it when he saw it, and others thinking that Sun Dongxu was preparing for his resignation.
In fact, Sun Dongxu's departure is already a sure thing. At the shareholders' meeting of Dongfang Selection on February 23, 2023, Yu Minhong announced the question of Sun Dongxu's stay and departure. Yu Minhong said that Sun Dongxu decided to resign as executive director and chief executive officer for personal reasons and become a non-executive director, while Yu Minhong himself served as chief executive officer and was personally responsible for the business development of Dongfang Selection. Yu Minhong also expressed his gratitude to Sun Dongxu for his contribution and was full of confidence in the future of Dongfang Selection.
Sun Dongxu's resignation is undoubtedly a major change in Dongfang Selection, and it is also a major decision for Yu Minhong. Yu Minhong is the founder of New Oriental and the actual controller of Oriental Selection, and his achievements and influence in the field of education need not be overstated. However, his understanding and experience of live broadcast e-commerce is not as good as that of Sun Dongxu and Dong Yuhui. Whether he can lead Dongfang Selection to continue to be at the forefront of live broadcast e-commerce remains to be tested by the market.
The future of Oriental Selection is also facing many challenges and hidden dangers. On the one hand, Dongfang Selection's fan growth has encountered a bottleneck, and its Douyin account has not broken through the 30 million mark for a long time, and the incremental space for users is limited. On the other hand, the business categories of Oriental Selection are also close to saturation, from food to clothing, from beauty to home appliances, from wine to scenic tickets, Oriental Selection has covered almost all consumer goods, and it is not easy to open up new markets. In addition, the share price of Dongfang Selection has far exceeded its revenue growth, its valuation level has been high, and the risk of stock price fluctuations is also greater. Finally, Dongfang Selection's dependence on Dong Yuhui is too serious, and Dong Yuhui's state and mentality directly affect Dongfang Selection's sales and brand image. If there is any problem with Dong Yuhui, Dongfang Selection's performance and stock price may be hit hard.
The resignation of Sun Dongxu, CEO of Dongfang Selection, is an event worth paying attention to, which not only reflects the internal changes of Dongfang Selection, but also indicates the external challenges of Dongfang Selection. Whether Yu Minhong's personal takeover can lead Dongfang Selection out of the predicament and achieve new breakthroughs remains to be proven by time.