Key Facts:
The Indian retail market is estimated to be worth $1.3 trillion.
Reliance Retail is an Indian retail company and a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.
Prime Highlights:
After nearly five years of being banned, Chinese fast fashion brand Shein re-enters the Indian market via a partnership with Reliance Retail.
The Shein India app has gained over 10,000 downloads on Google Play Store and ranks among the top 10 in Apple’s App Store for fashion.
In 2023, Shein signed a technology agreement with Reliance Retail to develop a local e-commerce platform, ensuring compliance with Indian regulations on data localization.
Key Background:
Chinese fast fashion giant Shein has officially re-entered the Indian market nearly five years after being banned by the government. This re-entry has been facilitated through a strategic partnership with Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, led by Isha Ambani, daughter of billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
Shein, which is now headquartered in Singapore, had its app banned by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in June 2020 due to geopolitical tensions between India and China. However, Shein’s return to India is a significant development, marked by its new collaboration with Reliance Retail. The Shein India app, which offers affordable fashion products, has already gained traction, accumulating over 10,000 downloads on Google’s Play Store. It also ranks among the top 10 in the fashion category on Apple’s App Store.
This partnership, first announced in 2023, involves a technology agreement between Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) and Roadget Business Pte Ltd, the parent company of Shein. As per the agreement, RRVL will develop an indigenous e-commerce platform for Shein, ensuring compliance with Indian regulations regarding data localization and infrastructure. This platform will feature products manufactured by local suppliers, making Shein’s offerings available for both domestic and global markets.
The Indian government had clarified in December 2023 that while the Shein app was banned, the sale of its branded products was not restricted. The agreement with Reliance Retail includes provisions to ensure that platform data will remain within India, with Shein having no access to it, thereby complying with local data protection regulations. Founded in 2008, Shein gained popularity for offering trendy, affordable women’s apparel and has maintained a strong appeal among millennials. Despite the 2020 ban, Shein products continued to appear on e-commerce platforms like Amazon, though the controversy surrounding its ban was brought to the Delhi High Court.