Wei Brian is a skin care entrepreneur and CEO of Wei East and Wei Beauty Brands.
Early life
Wei Brian was born in 1963 and lived in
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
, the capital city of the
Hubei Province
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
found in Central
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Brian earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Wuhan University. In 1985, Brian came to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to obtain her master's degree in Computer Science at
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Career
In 2002 Brian began selling her Wei East line on
HSN
HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flor ...
(Home Shopping Network).
In the beginning several HSN executives were cautious of the idea of using her sales idea. At first Wei Brian had almost no media training. She had a strong accent,
[Chan, Savio and Michael Zakkour. '' China's Super Consumers: What 1 Billion Customers Want and How to Sell it to Them''. ]John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, in p ...
, 2014. Online: p
162
, 9781118834749. print: p. 162. ("From East to West to Wei East", start p. 161, in Chapter 18: Marketing) and this gave her credibility that increased her sales volumes.
[Chan, Savio and Michael Zakkour. '' China's Super Consumers: What 1 Billion Customers Want and How to Sell it to Them''. ]John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, in p ...
, 2014. Online: p
163
, 9781118834749. print: p. 163. ("From East to West to Wei East", start p. 161, in Chapter 18: Marketing) Savio S. Chan (陳少宏, Pinyin: ''Chén Shàohóng'') and Michael Zakkour, authors of ''
China's Super Consumers: What 1 Billion Customers Want and How to Sell it to Them'', wrote that Brian's "passion and authenticity came through."
[
According to ]Women's Wear Daily
''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion".Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides infor ...
, in 2010 Brian partnered with Space NK
Space NK is a British retailer of personal care and beauty products.
The company was founded in 1991 by Nicky Kinnaird, with the first store opening in Covent Garden in 1993. Space NK became a Manzanita company in 2002, and as of August 2021, t ...
stores in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to introduce a 12-unit prestige treatment line called WEI Beauty.
In 2009 Brian won the Asian Women in Business Entrepreneurial Leadership Award. Brian also launched We Help, a community outreach program dedicated to a variety of philanthropic causes. Its first priority was to support families faced with autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
, through contributions to Autism Speaks and the Autism Treatment Center of America.
References
(December 2015). China Fashion & Design 30. Forbes Asia. p. 84.
External links
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Living people
1965 births
Drexel University alumni
Businesspeople from Wuhan
American cosmetics businesspeople
Wuhan University alumni
{{US-business-bio-1960s-stub
20th-century American businesspeople