Over the years, with the development of the Internet celebrity economy, many Internet celebrities have made a lot of money, but just recently, the well-known first-generation Internet celebrity Zhang Dayi closed his online store for ten years, what is going on? Internet celebrity: Is this not good?
1. The first generation of Internet celebrity Zhang Dayi closed the online store for ten years
According to a report by Elephant News, Zhang Dayi posted a long post on Weibo saying that he would indefinitely delay the launch of my Huanxi's wardrobe, skirt Jun, and Jupevendue stores to conform to the market to find the next target.
Zhang Dayi, co-founder of Ruhan Holdings and Internet celebrity model, posted a long post on Weibo saying that the Taobao store Wu Huanxi's wardrobe, skirt Jun, and Jupevendue will be postponed indefinitely, "It can be regarded as closing the store". She recalled that from starting a business with Ruhan in 2014 to going public in 2019, "I feel that my energy was consumed in advance." "I have experienced the betrayal of the people around me, the washing of major public opinion, and the adjustment of my body", Zhang Dayi said that he would undoubtedly choose to spend more time on his daughter.
She also talked about the development of various Internet platforms, "So far, I have not seen any successful transfer platform, because the meager gross profit margin of the clothing category cannot support various operating costs, and the transfer platform is at a loss." "Celebrity e-commerce is very beautiful, but it is suitable for small and beautiful, small and exquisite, otherwise it is an assembly line product", she said that she didn't want to be sorry for fans to do assembly line things, "just let it stop in this second".
At present, Zhang Dayi's Taobao store "My Joyful Wardrobe" shows 12.41 million fans, hardware crowns, and more than 90,000 monthly sales of goods.
In 2014, Zhang Dayi and Feng Min, the founder of Ruhan Holdings, launched the Taobao store "My Joyful Wardrobe" together, and in the year of its opening, it was among the "Taobao Women's Top Merchants" list with sales of more than 100 million yuan. In 2015, the store became the only online store in the women's clothing category to be on the best-selling list of Taobao online celebrity stores.
The following years from 2016 to 2018 were the pinnacle of Zhang Dayi's career. When she was the most popular, she revealed that she earned 300 million a year.
2. Is this not okay for Internet celebrities?
As one of the representatives of China's first generation of Internet celebrities, Zhang Dayi's ten-year closure of online stores has undoubtedly had a great impact on the entire Internet celebrity economy, triggering extensive discussions and thoughts: Is Internet celebrity really bad? What should we make of this?
First of all, the core of the influencer economy lies in traffic monetization. In the Internet era, whoever masters the traffic will have the ability to monetize. As an early success story, Zhang Dayi attracted a large number of fans through his unique style, thus transforming this attention into commercial value. However, as the internet landscape changes and consumer preferences change rapidly, any single source of traffic is likely to be lost due to a lack of freshness. Therefore, the decline in traffic of Zhang Dayi's online store is actually an expected phenomenon, which reflects a common problem in the Internet celebrity economy - how to maintain the stability and growth of traffic.
Secondly, with the rise of short video platforms and live streaming, new forms of influencers are reshaping the entire industry landscape. Not only do these new formats provide a more direct and effective marketing channel, but they are also more likely to capture the attention of the younger generation of consumers due to their greater interactivity and immediacy. In contrast, the first generation of Internet celebrities represented by Zhang Dayi are a little backward in terms of content form and means of communication. In addition, the emerging live streaming star anchors have risen rapidly with more professional product knowledge and personal charm, further squeezing the living space of traditional online celebrity stores. In this context, it is not surprising that Zhang Dayi's online store is facing a dilemma.
Third, the influencer economy is essentially a "small but beautiful" economic model, which relies on the personal charm of individual influencers and the support of specific fan groups. However, the fragility of this model is also obvious: if an influencer loses his appeal or suffers a negative event, the brand and business behind it are often hit hard. The delisting of Ruhan Holdings, to which Zhang Dayi belongs, is a reflection of the fragility of this model. In the face of market changes and competitive pressures, the influencer economy needs to seek a real path of transformation. This shows that even influencer companies with strong brand appeal need to constantly adjust their business models to adapt to changes in the external environment if they want to gain a long-term foothold in the highly competitive market environment. For Zhang Dayi, closing the online store may be just the beginning, and what she needs to think about in the future is how to reposition herself in the new situation and explore a path of transformation that suits her.
Fourth, in the long run, all influencers face a core problem: how to maintain continuous innovation and competitiveness. In the wave of the Internet, only by constantly innovating and creating their own unique advantages can we gain momentum for long-term development in the market. Zhang Dayi's case is a wake-up call for all Internet celebrities: no matter how brilliant the past was, it can't stand still. Only by keeping up with the pace of the times and constantly innovating content and business models can we remain invincible in the ever-changing influencer economy.