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A stool priced at 89.9 yuan has dragged both Luo Yonghao and Yu Minhong into a quality control controversy.

Recently, a viral product called the "Universal Wheel Rolling Stool" drew public attention after consumers dismantled it and found moldy wooden boards, used sponges, and other inferior materials inside. At the same time, it was discovered that the product in question had appeared in livestream rooms operated by Be Friends Holding (01450.HK) and East Buy (01797.HK).

On September 25, the Be Friends livestream room publicly acknowledged that the product had issues including moldy wooden boards and substandard filling materials, and offered all buyers a full refund without requiring the return of goods. Luo Yonghao subsequently responded, calling it "a serious quality management incident."

However, the matter did not end there. The internet celebrity disclosed that East Buy had sold nearly 10 million yuan worth of the same product, making it the largest distributor by shipment volume. Over the following three days, he called out his former employer Yu Minhong on social media, pressing him on why East Buy had not yet initiated a full refund.

Viral Stool Exposed for Quality Problems

The controversy began when a consumer dismantled the viral product "Universal Wheel Rolling Stool."

Previously, a consumer posted a video on social media stating that they had spent 89.9 yuan to purchase the product on the "Be Friends Smart Home Best-Seller List." After taking it apart, they found that the stool contained used sponges, moldy wooden boards, and other materials inside, along with a noticeable odor.

After the video attracted attention, the supplier reportedly called the consumer multiple times requesting that the related content be deleted.

On the morning of September 25, the Be Friends livestream room issued a statement acknowledging the product's quality issues and promising that "all consumers who have purchased this product will receive a full refund without returning the goods."

Luo Yonghao responded that same day, saying "Be Friends handled it without any major problems," but also acknowledged that "this is a serious quality management incident."

It is worth noting that although Luo Yonghao had long since stepped down from Be Friends' management, he still serves as Chief Brand Supervisor. He stated that for any product sold across the entire Be Friends company, even if it was not sold during his own livestream, he would take responsibility for oversight.

After endorsing Be Friends' handling approach, he also disclosed a set of sales figures from a competitor.

Luo Yonghao said that after his team's investigation, "we found that Teacher Yu Minhong's East Buy platform also sold nearly 10 million, making it the largest distributor by shipment volume for this product."

According to Jiemian News, multiple consumers have recently reported purchasing the same product in East Buy's livestream room and discovering issues such as moldy wooden boards and used wooden strips inside. A dismantling video posted by one consumer showed that the stool's internal filling included discarded sponges, wooden boards with cement, plastic waste, and construction debris.

According to the consumer's purchase receipt, the product was also priced at 89.9 yuan, but the corresponding merchant was "Holiday Childhood International Exclusive Store," with the registered operating entity being Xiamen Guantang International Trade Co., Ltd.

Business registration information shows that Guantang International was established in August 2026, with a registered capital of 100,000 yuan. Its legal representative and actual controller is Ma Huan, and its business scope mainly involves furniture manufacturing and sales.

The actual seller of the product previously involved with Be Friends was "Holiday Childhood Yunqi Furniture Exclusive Store," with the registered operating entity being Xiamen Yunqi Furniture Co., Ltd. According to Tianyancha, Yunqi Furniture was established in June 2026, also with a registered capital of 100,000 yuan. Its legal representative is Huang Yisang, and it mainly engages in furniture manufacturing and sales.

Although the registered capital is the same and both online store names contain "Holiday Childhood," public equity and key personnel information show no connection between the two companies.

While Be Friends continued to face scrutiny from netizens over the rolling stool, Luo Yonghao also posted multiple times naming Yu Minhong and East Buy.

On September 26, he mentioned in a post that "this inferior chair was sold the most by Yu Minhong, three to four times more than Be Friends, and no full refund has been initiated."

On September 27, Luo Yonghao posted again: "Be Friends accidentally sold two to three million worth of inferior rolling stools, and immediately issued a public apology and initiated a full refund without return upon discovery, yet still trended on social media for several days; Yu Minhong also accidentally sold over ten million of the same inferior rolling stools, but to this day refuses to admit fault, apologize, offer a full refund, or say anything at all."

On September 28, Luo Yonghao mentioned Yu Minhong again, saying that East Buy's customer service had previously replied that they would "expedite handling immediately," but several days had passed with no follow-up, adding, "Don't let the people who love and trust you down again."

As of now, products related to "rolling stool" can no longer be found on East Buy's livestream room or the East Buy app. However, whether the delisting of related products is directly related to Luo Yonghao's continuous statements cannot be confirmed based on publicly available information.

Turning Things Around Through Livestream E-Commerce

This controversy drew attention not only because it struck a nerve with the public regarding product quality and safety, but also because it involves Luo Yonghao, who frequently trends on social media.

Public records show that Luo Yonghao was born in 1972 in Yanbian, Jilin Province, of Korean ethnicity, and is an entrepreneur and speaker. After dropping out of high school in his second year, he ran a barbecue stall, sold second-hand books and cars, exported aphrodisiacs to South Korea, and was even rumored to have been involved in pyramid schemes.

In 2000, after teaching himself English, Luo Yonghao sent a 10,000-word self-recommendation email to Yu Minhong and earned a third chance to give a trial lecture. Before that, he had already failed two trial lectures.

In 2001, Luo Yonghao became a teacher at Beijing New Oriental School and subsequently became famous on the internet for his humorous and vivid "Old Luo Quotes." In 2006, he left New Oriental and founded an internet blog website — Bullog. In 2008, he opened Old Luo English Training School.

In 2012, Luo Yonghao founded Smartisan Technology and entered the smartphone industry, releasing its first product, the Smartisan T1, in 2014. In the second half of 2018, Smartisan Technology suffered a severe operational crisis and ultimately exited the smartphone market, leaving Luo Yonghao with 600 million yuan in debt.

In April 2020, Luo Yonghao entered livestream e-commerce with the goal of repaying debt. His first livestream surpassed 110 million yuan in transaction value, and he gradually developed into a top livestream e-commerce institution.

In June 2022, Luo Yonghao announced his departure from Be Friends' management, and the original Luo Yonghao Douyin account was renamed to the Be Friends livestream room. After that, Luo Yonghao mainly appeared as Chief Brand Supervisor and would return to the Be Friends livestream room during holidays and major promotional events.

In August 2024, Luo Yonghao posted on Weibo disclosing that approximately 548 million yuan in after-tax cash he had earned from years of livestream e-commerce was used to repay debt. Additionally, in July 2023, Be Friends Holding went public in Hong Kong through a reverse merger, achieving a backdoor listing.

According to Be Friends Holding's 2026 interim results announcement, the company achieved revenue of approximately 771 million yuan in the first half, a year-on-year increase of 24.5%; profit for the period was approximately 86.518 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 56.3%. During the same period, the company's cumulative GMV was approximately 6.53 billion yuan, operating over 70 matrix livestream rooms on platforms including Douyin and Taobao, and cooperating with over 30,000 brands.

On the other side, East Buy, also a Hong Kong-listed company, completed its transformation from education to livestream e-commerce. East Buy was formerly New Oriental Online, which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in February 2019. In July 2021, the "double reduction" policy was introduced, and the company was among the first affected.

Afterward, New Oriental Online divested its K-12 tutoring business and pivoted to livestream e-commerce as its new business direction. Yu Minhong, founder of New Oriental, also personally led the livestreaming efforts.

In June 2022, East Buy suddenly went viral, as videos of Dong Yuhui's bilingual livestreams — with his resemblance to a "Terracotta Warrior" — exploded across social media. In February 2023, to align with the company's business direction, New Oriental Online officially changed its name to East Buy, going all-in on livestream e-commerce.

East Buy's latest financial report shows that in fiscal year 2026 (for the year ended May 31, 2026), the company achieved total revenue of 5.701 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.8%; profit for the year was 544 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8,684.8%. During the same period, the company's GMV reached 10.2 billion yuan, of which self-operated product GMV was approximately 5.4 billion yuan, accounting for about 52.6%.

By comparison, in fiscal year 2022 (for the year ended May 31, 2022), before going viral, East Buy's total revenue was less than 900 million yuan, and it even posted a loss of 534 million yuan for the year. The fiscal year 2023 report released the following year after going viral showed that East Buy's total revenue surged to 4.510 billion yuan, with a profit of 971 million yuan, turning profitable in one stroke.

Therefore, it can be said that livestream e-commerce not only allowed Luo Yonghao to repay most of his debt, but also helped his former employer Yu Minhong make a successful turnaround.

Conclusion

The once talented protege and his mentor have now become parties that occasionally exchange barbs from a distance. In particular, regarding the recently hotly discussed rolling stool incident, Luo Yonghao has continued to press Yu Minhong for answers. Whether Yu Minhong will publicly respond, and how East Buy will ultimately handle this controversy, remains to be further observed.