Recently, East Buy has initiated recruitment for TikTok-related positions, including Content Operations Manager, Business Manager, Operations Manager, and Overseas Store Operations for TikTok, with monthly salaries ranging from 20,000 to 40,000 Yuan.
TikTok is a video social platform owned by ByteDance, targeting international markets, and has rapidly risen in the cross-border e-commerce sector in recent years. According to incomplete information gathered by a 21st Century Business Herald reporter, many top anchors have leveraged TikTok for e-commerce ventures, including influencers like Crazy Little Yang Ge, Li Jiaqi, and Simba.
Industry insiders believe that East Buy’s recruitment for TikTok-related positions aims to leverage the TikTok platform for its international expansion plans.
East Buy Prepares for Global Expansion
On January 18, East Buy held a shareholder meeting in Beijing, where company officials stated that East Buy is preparing for international expansion, but detailed plans are not yet available.
Additionally, the official mentioned that there are plans to further expand the product development and selection team, and there may be collaboration with TikTok in the overseas supply chain.
According to information on job recruitment websites, East Buy has recently started recruiting for TikTok-related positions, including Content Operations Manager, Business Manager, Operations Manager, and Overseas Store Operations for TikTok, with monthly salaries ranging from 20,000 to 40,000 Yuan.
For example, the responsibilities of the Business Manager position include developing and managing overseas business supplier resources, optimizing the procurement process, collecting and analyzing supplier information and market trends, implementing supplier development and process control management, formulating effective procurement strategies, establishing stable supply channels, and exploring new brands and categories.
The Content Operations Manager is responsible for building, operating, and managing TikTok short video accounts, collecting and creating short video content materials, formulating operation and promotion plans, achieving fan growth, monitoring and analyzing TikTok data, continuously optimizing results, proposing corresponding strategies, and improving content conversion rates. They also research TikTok short video trends, platform strategies, and industry competition.
In fact, there have been signs of East Buy’s overseas expansion.
On December 28, 2021, East Buy went live for the first time. In June 2022, with its anchor Dong Yuhui successfully breaking into new markets, East Buy quickly grew into a “phenomenal live broadcast room.”
In July 2022, some former teaching staff who had resigned received invitations for New Oriental anchor positions, including TikTok direction. This was the first sign of East Buy’s international expansion. At that time, recruitment software information indicated that New Oriental was recruiting TikTok anchors primarily for the European and American markets.
Interviewees believe that East Buy has strong supply chain management capabilities in fields such as agricultural products and food, ensuring the quality and reliability of products, which is an important consideration for overseas users. Additionally, East Buy’s anchor team includes several English-proficient anchors who can communicate effectively with overseas users.
However, they also pointed out that East Buy’s overseas layout will face challenges such as cultural differences, legal regulations, and competitive environments in overseas markets, requiring adjustments and optimizations in product selection and marketing strategies.
Top Anchors Flock to TikTok
East Buy’s choice to enter the overseas e-commerce track can be seen as a microcosm of top anchors exploring overseas markets. According to the incomplete information gathered by a 21st Century Business Herald reporter, some top anchors have entered TikTok e-commerce, including Crazy Little Yang Ge, Li Jiaqi, and Simba.
Among them, Crazy Little Yang Ge, as one of the successful examples of domestic short video internet celebrities transitioning to e-commerce anchors, has recently started laying out TikTok’s overseas e-commerce business and hopes to replicate the success of domestic models overseas. Li Jiaqi also has a large number of fans on TikTok and frequently recommends various products, including beauty, clothing, and home goods, during live broadcasts. Simba primarily sells products from his own brand on TikTok, including clothing and daily necessities.
TikTok e-commerce has rapidly risen in recent years, starting testing in Indonesia in 2021 and subsequently launching in markets such as the UK, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and others. On September 12 last year, TikTok officially launched TikTok Shop in the United States.
Tabcut data shows that TikTok Shop’s overall GMV showed steady growth from January to October 2023. Specifically, the GMV data in January was more influenced by the aftermath of the 2022 year-end promotions; February’s data showed a slight decline. From March to April, there was a significant increase in overall GMV, mainly influenced by TikTok Shop’s Ramadan promotions in Southeast Asia.
From June to August 2023, TikTok Shop integrated resources from five countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand, to conduct the 6.6 Birthday Sales event, multi-site summer promotions, and full-service return-to-school season promotions, achieving consecutive new highs in the GMV index.
In September, with TikTok Shop’s fully managed business officially allowing cross-border merchants to enter the platform and the Southeast Asia 9.9 promotion proceeding as scheduled, monthly GMV reached its peak in October (January-October 2023); the decline in October’s data was related to the official closure of the Indonesian market.
Citing information from market sources, some media reported that ByteDance’s annual sales in 2023 increased by 30%, reaching $110 billion (approximately RMB 791.626 billion), a growth rate that is basically consistent with the 30% growth rate in 2022. In addition, TikTok’s revenue last year may have exceeded $20 billion.
Against this backdrop, many domestic top anchors are rushing to TikTok, attempting to claim a share of the overseas market.
According to industry insiders, after experiencing intense competition in live e-commerce, domestic brands have more experience in TikTok operations, and there may be more anchors joining this field in the future.”