Shein To Re-Enter India In Partnership With Reliance Retail

Three years after its ban in India, fast fashion brand Shein is making its second entry in the country in partnership with Reliance Retail.

The company has secured an approval from the Indian government for its partnership with Reliance Industries.

Under this partnership, Reliance Retail would sell Shein products in offline stores operated by the retailer as well as through its ecommerce app Ajio.

To diversify its supply chain, Shein reportedly will be sourcing goods from India for its global operation in the middle east and other markets.

Due to geopolitical issues, the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps in India in 2020 including fashion platform Shein which gained immense popularity among young Indians during its operation in the country.

After its ban in India, Shein relaunched in India on Amazon during its annual Prime Day sale in 2021. A petition was later filed before the Delhi High Court saying the Chinese brand would have “access to personal and sensitive data of several millions of Indian citizens”.

Centre told the Delhi High Court that Shein was banned in the interest of India’s sovereignty and security of the State but a blanket order against the sale of its products on third-party platforms could not be passed under the IT Act. It added that the sale of Shein’s products on a third-party platform is not covered under the Section 69A.

However, days back, the fast-fashion startup raised $2 Bn at a valuation of $66 Bn. It competes against the global fast fashion brands Zara, H&M.

After Shein’s ban in India, London-based Urbanic tried to tap into the Genz user base in India, however it could not disrupt the market as Shein did. Fashion marketplaces such as Myntra have also started to bring genZ targeted features on their platforms. Besides, a number of D2C startups such as FabAlley, FableStreet, Souled Store are also trying to tap millennials and GenZ.