Koolearn
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Koolearn Technology Holding Limited (新东方在线) was the online education arm of New Oriental Education & Technology Group, founded in 2005 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2019. One of China's earliest online education platforms, it offered after-school tutoring in core subjects for kindergarten-to-ninth-grade students, among other education products.
02 / Koolearn FAILURE REASONS
Failure analysis
The failure was entirely regulatory. China's July 2021 'Double Reduction' policy barred for-profit tutoring in core curriculum subjects, wiping out a business that accounted for up to 40% of Koolearn's total revenue. Koolearn suspended all K-9 after-school tutoring by the end of November 2021 and pivoted: at the end of 2021 it launched the East Buy (东方甄选) live-streaming e-commerce brand, and in 2023 the listed company was renamed East Buy Holding. The company itself survived - only the tutoring business failed.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Koolearn was founded as the online education arm of New Oriental Education & Technology Group.
- Hong Kong listing
Koolearn listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
- K-9 tutoring ended
Following the July 2021 'Double Reduction' policy, Koolearn announced it would suspend all after-school tutoring in core subjects for kindergarten-to-ninth-grade students by the end of November 2021.
- East Buy launched
At the end of 2021 Koolearn launched the East Buy live-streaming e-commerce brand, shifting its focus to agricultural product sales via livestreams.
- Renamed East Buy Holding
In January 2023 Koolearn Technology proposed renaming itself East Buy Holding Limited, reflecting its shifted business focus.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Koolearn operated after-school core-subject tutoring for K-9 students, a business contributing up to 40% of its revenue.
- 02
China's July 2021 'Double Reduction' policy prohibited for-profit tutoring in core curriculum subjects.
- 03
Koolearn suspended all K-9 after-school tutoring by the end of November 2021 and shifted to other education products.
- 04
At the end of 2021 it launched the East Buy live-streaming e-commerce brand; in 2023 the listed company was renamed East Buy Holding.
- 05
No audited loss figure was disclosed.