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☆ An online exchange between China's 'Lipstick King' and a viewer over the affordability of an $11 beauty item shows just how messed up the country's economy is
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A livestreamer in China is under fire for his response to a viewer complaining about the price of an eyebrow pencil. Li Jiaqi told the viewer to reflect on whether they have been "working hard enough" if their salary hasn't increased in years. In response, the 31-year-old — known as China's "Lipstick King" — told the viewer to do some soul-searching on why they found the beauty product expensive. Still, Li has collectively lost over 1.5 million followers from Taobao Live and Weibo, China's Sixth Tone publication reported Tuesday. The event takes place on November 11 and is so popular that it even dwarfs Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Persons: Li Jiaqi, Austin Li Jiaqi, —, Li, Li —, I'm Organizations: Service, Reuters, Taobao, Weibo, CNN Locations: China, Wall, Silicon, Weibo

☆ China’s ‘Lipstick King’ tearfully apologizes after online spat highlighting country’s economic woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Li Jiaqi, who has 76 million followers on Taobao’s livestreaming platform, is one of the country’s biggest internet celebrities. Li Jiaqi attends a livestreaming ceremony in the Chinese city of Hangzhou on September 23, 2021. It’s easy for them celebrities to make money!” one user commented on Weibo, China’s version of X. His followers on Weibo, China’s version of X, has fallen by 1.1 million to 29.3 million since he made the comment on Sunday. Many online users questioned whether Li, a sales superstar for many years, was particularly harsh because he was simply tired and stressed out.

Persons: Li Jiaqi, Jack Ma, ”, Li, VCG, “, Li hasn’t, shouldn’t, ” “, Hu Xijin Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Alibaba, Global Times Locations: China, Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Weibo, ”

☆ China state TV slams beauty influencer who told off thrifty viewer
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, Sept 12 (Reuters) - China's state television criticised on Tuesday a famous beauty livestreamer who told off a viewer for complaining about the high price of an eyebrow pencil, as many Chinese feel the pinch from an economic slowdown. Livestreaming is big business in China, generating sales of $480 billion last year, and Li gets a commission from the products he sells on his livestreams. Li responded by saying prices were not rising and told the viewer that she couldn't afford the eyebrow pencil because she wasn't working hard enough. Hours later, he apologised to the viewer on this Weibo social media account, and then the following day, he apologised again on his livestream. ($1 = 7.2876 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Casey Hall; editing by Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: livestreamer, Li Jiaqi, Li, Casey Hall, Miral Organizations: Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China

☆ Brands focus on stories in refining China livestreaming to boost profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/5] Livestreaming sessions by Chinese livestreamers Li Jiaqi and Viya, whose real name is Huang Wei, (L) are seen on Alibaba's e-commerce app Taobao displayed on mobile phones in this illustration picture taken December 14, 2021. Stellar growth boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic saw the industry employ more than 1.23 million livestream hosts by 2020, says researcher iResearch, along with numerous accompanying livestream-related training academies and agencies. While Tmall and Li Jiaqi remain powerful, brands moving away from that strategy are cutting reliance on massive discounts and even his famous exhortation, "Oh my god! Liu once thought her brand's price point of about 2,000 yuan ($277) for its dresses made it incompatible with bargain-heavy livestreaming. The dominance of pureplay sales platforms such as Alibaba's Tmall and Taobao, along with JD.com (9618.HK), is increasingly challenged by entertainment and information-led platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu.

Persons: Li Jiaqi, Huang Wei, Florence Lo, Apple's, William Lau, Clyde, iResearch, Jacob Cooke, Li, Liu, Hugo Boss, superhost Viya, Lexie Moris, Betty, Casey Hall, Miyoung Kim, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, Apple Watch, HK, Tmall, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Beijing, Asia, Pacific, Douyin

Several businesses specializing in selling lingerie through livestreaming have had their sessions cut short after they featured a female model and their brush with internet censorship came to light in January. A man poses in a white dress and robe set posted on Chinese video-sharing platform Douyin on December 17, 2022. The emergence of male lingerie models has caused mixed views online in China, from merriment and annoyance to reluctant acceptance. Male models are not the only workaround. Even outside of China, platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have faced criticism for restricting the sharing of images involving partial nudity, especially of women.

☆ Alibaba's Singles Day shopping event set to end with subdued sales and no fanfare
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Casey Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] A delivery worker sorts parcels at a makeshift logistics station ahead of Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping festival, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, November 10, 2022. The Singles Day shopping festival, which despite its name has evolved into a multi-week event, is a key barometer of Chinese retail demand. But Citi predicts rival e-commerce giant JD.com (9618.HK), which also holds a Singles Day shopping event, to fare somewhat better as it is strong in consumer electronics and home appliance offerings which are expected to remain popular. Singles Day has also had contend with the absence of one its two live-streaming mega sales gurus, Viya, who has been offline since being fined for tax evasion. "Alibaba has tried to make (the event) less about just dropping prices," said Mark Tanner, chief executive of Shanghai-based consultancy, China Skinny.

An advertisement promoting Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping festival is pictured, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, October 22, 2022. Sweaty Betty China Vice President Lexie Morris told Reuters the active-wear brand would use only "one or two" livestream hosts this Singles Day season and that it was starting to work with much smaller and more sports-focused livestreamers. Analysts expect to see another year of slowing sales overall this Singles Day, dampened by a slowing economy and China's zero-COVID-19 policy. In June, Alibaba rival JD.com Inc (9618.HK) also recorded its slowest-ever sales growth for 618, China's second-largest shopping festival after Singles Day. "Instead of a traffic-driven model, Taobao Live helps merchants grow their businesses sustainably," it said.

☆ China’s ‘Lipstick King’ returns to live-streaming show after mysterious three-month disappearance
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

On Tuesday night, Li Jiaqi reappeared on Alibaba’s Taobao Live, a live-streaming platform for the e-commerce giant. By the end of the two-hour show, 63 million viewers had watched his live-stream, higher than most of his previous shows. The 30-year-old livestreamer, also called Austin Li, was one of China’s biggest internet celebrities, with 64 million followers on Alibaba’s Taobao. Just before the abrupt ending, Li had shown his audience a multi-layered ice cream treat decorated with Oreos and wafers. In June, just two weeks after Li disappeared, Beijing intensified its crackdown on the the country’s booming livestreaming industry.

☆ China's 'Lipstick King' returns to live-streaming show after mysterious three-month disappearance
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Laura He | Cnn Business | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

On Tuesday night, Li Jiaqi reappeared on Alibaba's Taobao Live, a live-streaming platform for the e-commerce giant. His show immediately attracted thousands of viewers within the first few minutes, despite no prior notices on his social media accounts. The 30-year-old livestreamer, also called Austin Li, was one of China's biggest internet celebrities, with 64 million followers on Alibaba's Taobao. He once sold 15,000 lipsticks within five minutes in a sales competition against Alibaba founder Jack Ma, winning himself the nickname "China's lipstick king." E-commerce livestreamer Austin Li Jiaqi attends a public-welfare livestreaming ceremony on September 23, 2021 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China.

☆ China's top livestreamer resurfaces 3 months after his show was cut short as he was showing off a military tank-shaped cake on the eve of the Tiananmen massacre
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's top influencer Li Jiaqi's livestream was cut short after he showed off a tank-shaped cake. The incident took place on June 3, a day before the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. He was referring to Alibaba's ecommerce platform and the Chinese version of TikTok, respectively. The ecommerce giant has already lost another top livestreamer, Viya, whose accounts went offline after a tax evasion scandal last year. Viya, who was known for hosting a popular shopping stream on the e-commerce platform Taobao, is still missing in action.

☆ China's livestreaming sales king returns to screens after long absence
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Florence Lo/IllustrationBEIJING, Sept 20 (Reuters) - China's top livestreaming sales influencer Li Jiaqi reappeared on screens on Tuesday, ending an over three-month-long absence that began after he was cut off abruptly, mid-show, on the eve of the anniversary of the country's Tiananmen Square crackdown. Li's reappearance on his livestreaming channel on Tuesday evening for roughly two hours occurred with little advance notice, with the news spreading by word of mouth. In the first hour, Taobao users paid nearly 30 million visits to his channel. He gave no explanation for his absence and his studio did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Analysts say their disappearance from screens have hurt online sales.

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