At the 2026 Yabuli Forum Summer Annual Meeting held in Chengdu, Sichuan, from September 4th to 6th, Yu Minhong, Chairman of New Oriental Education & Technology, took the stage to share his insights.

Yu noted that since its inception in early 2022, EAST BUY has completed five years of operation. During this period, various comments and reports about the company have surfaced repeatedly. He admitted that these reports were not all praise for EAST BUY's achievements; rather, they mostly discussed the phenomena the platform has generated.

He candidly acknowledged that EAST BUY's journey stemmed from his shift from education to agricultural products, entering the e-commerce sector and cultivating numerous livestream hosts, which in turn sparked many controversies. Consequently, over these five years, he has continuously remained under the spotlight of public opinion, and the scrutiny has yet to truly subside even now.

Yu pointed out that the outside world has consistently categorized EAST BUY as an e-commerce company or a livestream-influencer firm. However, frankly speaking, if that were the whole story, EAST BUY would likely no longer exist today. Emphasizing the company's strategic positioning, Yu stressed that from the very beginning, he established it as a 'product-centric company'.

He revealed that within the second month of EAST BUY's founding, he instructed the team to develop the first self-branded product. His rule was clear: there was no need to build agricultural product factories or companies independently, given the abundance of relevant resources domestically. Instead, through collaboration, independent research and development, and rigorous quality inspections, the goal was to craft genuinely superior self-operated agricultural and sideline products.

Yu noted that he had formulated a 'triangular strategy' from the outset, placing products at the pinnacle of the pyramid while developing two complementary capabilities. The first was livestreaming proficiency, which he believes serves as the best sales tool for products, effectively promoting quality goods nationwide. He acknowledged that he currently stands as a relatively prominent 'entrepreneur-influencer', still engaging in various livestreams and product promotions. Yet, he insisted this is not detrimental, as staking his personal reputation and fame on these efforts naturally compels him to be more meticulous and cautious with products, thereby safeguarding their quality.

The second capability involved building a proprietary APP to establish a membership platform. He argued that relying solely on carriers like WeChat groups is insufficient; owning an independent platform is essential. Looking back after five years, Yu concluded that this strategy has proven highly effective.

Currently, EAST BUY has preliminarily evolved into a company centered on products, supported by communication channels, seamlessly integrating both elements to operate in the agricultural and daily necessities sectors.