雷科技
On August 23, former Dongfang Select livestreamer Duntun posted on Weibo: “It’s been one year since I started livestreaming! Time flies! Looking back, I started from scratch and steadily moved forward.”
In this post, he also revealed a key detail: After going independent for one year, his team’s cumulative GMV has surpassed RMB 100 million.
Many people first became familiar with Duntun through Dongfang Select. At the time, alongside Dong Yuhui, Ming Ming, and Tianquan, he was affectionately dubbed one of the “Dongfang Select F4” by fans.
Source: Weibo
Duntun’s real name is Wang Ruodun. He graduated from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law with a major in Business English and previously worked as an English teacher at New Oriental.
In June 2022, following New Oriental’s pivot to livestreaming, he became one of Dongfang Select’s earliest core hosts.
The iconic line—“Don’t panic, don’t panic—when the sun sets, the moon will shine”—originated with Duntun.
After taking over Dongfang Select’s Beauty & Lifestyle account, he transformed this niche channel into a top-tier account with over 30 million followers—briefly even surpassing the main account in popularity.
On June 18, 2025, Duntun announced his departure upon the expiration of his three-year contract.
His solo livestream debut generated nearly RMB 12.5 million in sales over two days, with total views exceeding 5 million. However, traffic soon declined sharply—peak concurrent viewers dropped from tens of thousands down to just a few thousand.
Unexpectedly, he stabilized his core beauty category while continuously refining product selection and livestream pacing.
A year later, his team’s cumulative GMV has exceeded RMB 100 million.
On the same day—or around the time—that Duntun announced surpassing RMB 100 million in GMV, Dongfang Select released its FY2026 financial report.
Source: E-Commerce Insider
Data shows that net profit surged nearly 86-fold compared to FY2025. Meanwhile, Dongfang Select’s total headcount rose from 1,401 to 1,812 employees.
Yet total payroll decreased by exactly RMB 400 million—cutting average compensation in half.
In LeiTech’s opinion (ID: xiaoleibbb), this RMB 400 million likely represents savings from no longer needing to pay massive platform commissions and signing fees to departed top-tier hosts.
Indeed, the substantial commissions previously flowing to top hosts have now directly become corporate net profit.
Moreover, during its earnings call, Dongfang Select announced that its host team—currently over 80 members—will expand to more than 100 by FY2027.
The salary of one top-tier host could fund dozens of mid-tier hosts—a cost-effective investment.
This is precisely what Dongfang Select is pursuing today: replacing elite top-tier hosts with a scalable matrix of mid-tier hosts.
Source: E-Commerce Insider
Duntun and Dongfang Select are pursuing two entirely different paths.
One person operates independently with a small team, focusing deeply on the beauty vertical—and achieving over RMB 100 million in GMV within a year.
While not matching Dong Yuhui’s phenomenon-level scale, this performance is already highly impressive for an independent host.
Dongfang Select, meanwhile, is reducing reliance on superstar hosts—leveraging dozens of mid-tier hosts to sustain its entire business and converting the savings into profit.
Employee count increased, revenue grew, and profits multiplied—data suggests this strategy is working.
Neither path is inherently right or wrong; they simply reflect different strategic choices.
Notably, Duntun retained his role as an official product ambassador for Dongfang Select’s self-branded products after his departure. Moreover, Yu Minhong stated at the time of Duntun’s exit that he remains available to assist with product selection whenever needed.
Parting ways professionally, yet maintaining mutual respect—this is perhaps the most graceful separation possible.
Source: Weibo
Many netizens commented that Duntun’s RMB 100-million GMV milestone post-departure and Dongfang Select’s explosive profit growth represent the ideal “breakup”: you thrive, and so do I.
Honestly, LeiTech (ID: xiaoleibbb) has been pondering one question: Who truly depends on whom—the superstar host or the platform?
At this point, however, that question may no longer matter.
In LeiTech’s (ID: xiaoleibbb) view, Duntun’s RMB 100-million GMV achievement one year after going independent serves as a highly instructive industry case study. Platforms can certainly launch careers—but what ultimately retains talent is capability, trust, and a robust commercial closed loop.
Dongfang Select’s financial report demonstrates that a platform—with strong supply-chain capabilities, solid brand equity, and a deep bench of mid-tier hosts—can generate profits without relying on superstar hosts.
The healthiest relationship isn’t one of mutual entanglement, but of independent excellence.
Finally:
What do you think of Duntun’s RMB 100-million GMV milestone? Do you still watch his livestreams? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
