Recently, Oriental Selection has been caught in the "little composition" controversy. Not only has it lost more than 250,000 followers in five days, but its stock price has also been on a roller coaster. On December 8, Oriental Selection started a three-day "Jilin trip". Under a "Jilin trip" video he posted, the comment "who wrote the promotional copy" at the top of the video caused dissatisfaction among fans, which started a "little essay controversy" among Dong Yuhui's fans to "challenge" Oriental Selection.
As public opinion fermented, the number of fans and stock price of Oriental Selection were affected to varying degrees. At the close of trading on December 13, Oriental Selection's share price fell 12.96%, and its market value evaporated by more than HK$3 billion in three trading days.
Although New Oriental founder Yu Minhong, Oriental Selection CEOs Sun Dongxu and Dong Yuhui have responded to the matter many times, public opinion does not seem to have cooled down. On the contrary, competitor Gaotu's Jiapin live broadcast room "picked up" and gained hundreds of thousands of followers, and its stock price continued to rise.
Dong Yuhui’s salary “became a mystery”
Dong Yuhui, who is in the midst of this "turmoil", has also become the focus of public attention for his salary.
On the evening of the 12th, Oriental Screening CEO Sun Dongxu responded to the essay incident in the live broadcast room. According to him, someone had previously inferred that Dong Yuhui’s annual income was tens of millions based on the company’s financial report, but in fact “that was only a part of Dong Yuhui’s (annual) income.”
In a previous conversation between Dong Yuhui and Yu Minhong, Dong Yuhui's salary seemed to be reflected. Dong Yuhui once expressed that he hoped Yu Minhong would take him on a blind date, and said, "As long as the child is a good child, what do I need money for? I have enough money now. You gave me a lot. Too much money is painful."
Is Dong Yuhui's salary really as Sun Dongxu said, "tens of millions is just a part"? According to media reports, a senior New Oriental source revealed that Dong Yuhui’s income consists of annual salary plus options. The real annual salary is about several million after tax, but the options have not yet been issued. The first batch of options is expected to be released in April next year. If we look at the options contracts of most companies, once Dong Yuhui leaves his job early before April next year, all options will be reset to zero.
At the end of August this year, Oriental Selection handed over its first financial report after its transformation. As of May 31, Oriental Selection’s total revenue in fiscal year 2023 was 4.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 651%; net profit was 971 million yuan, compared with a loss of 534 million yuan in the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 282%, turning losses into profits. This fiscal year, Oriental Selection's annual GMV reached 10 billion yuan, the total number of orders reached 136 million, and the number of self-operated products exceeded 120.
It is undeniable that the Oriental Selection live broadcast, which was popularized by Dong Yuhui, allowed New Oriental to "find a new way" to successfully transform, and the increase in performance and stock price also brought huge benefits to the company. In the first half of 2023, Oriental Screening CEO Sun Dongxu cashed out 200 million yuan, and CFO Yin Qiang also cashed out HK$61.59 million. It is reported that when the management cashed out on a large scale, many fans complained about Dong Yuhui, believing that Dong Yuhui did not receive the rewards he deserved.
Many parties start a "people-grabbing" war
On December 13, some netizens discovered that Dong Yuhui's signature on social platforms had been changed to "Don't mean, don't have to, don't insist, don't me", which was previously "Used to be a teacher, now a salesperson". In addition, Dong Yuhui’s current IP address is displayed in Shaanxi Province, which is also his birthplace.
At the same time, an entry titled "Shaanxi Cultural Tourism shouts out Dong Yuhui" was on the Weibo hot search. Some media reported that Shaanxi Cultural Tourism released a video shouting to Dong Yuhui, "If you are really unhappy outside, you should come back."
In response, the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism stated that it has paid attention to the relevant situation and is currently handling it. The Shaanxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism stated that it will respect Dong Yuhui's personal wishes and choices, but has never made any "speech" or other actions.
The drama of Dongfang Selection "falling" and Gao Tu "getting full" is also continuing to unfold. On the evening of December 11, Gaotu Jiapin’s live broadcast room was flooded with fans “mother-in-law” of Oriental Selection anchor Dong Yuhui. On that day, 600,000 people poured into the live broadcast room, and more than 10,000 people were online at the same time. The amount of goods brought was estimated to be 250,000-500,000, which is nearly 10 times higher than before. In the capital market, the stock price of Gaotu listed on the US stock market has also started a "wild surge" mode. After a 17% surge on the evening of December 12, Gaotu's stock price rose another 7% on the evening of the 13th. The cumulative increase since December 11 has reached 33.7%, and the market value has rebounded to around US$1 billion.
On the 12th, Gaotu founder Chen Xiangdong responded to a netizen's suggestion to "dig Dong Yuhui" in the live broadcast room: "Dong Yuhui is not for poaching, Dong Yuhui is for love."
As public opinion continued to ferment, Oriental Screening also revealed that Yu Minhong was faced with the situation of "choosing between Sun Dongxu and Dong Yuhui".
According to a chat record circulated on the Internet, Yu Minhong is currently faced with the choice of whether to protect CEO Sun Dongxu or anchor Dong Yuhui. The source said, "Sun Dongxu made it clear to Yu Minhong that he would not let Dong Yuhui return to Oriental Screening again."
In response, Yu Minhong denied the rumor to Sina Technology and said it was "nothing."
Sun Dongxu, CEO of Oriental Screening, also responded by saying, "There are no rumors."