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Tag: Reliance Shein Partnership

  • Reliance & Shein to Take India-Made Fashion Global Within a Year

    According to numerous media reports, fashion retailer Shein and partner Reliance Retail intend to quickly grow their Indian supplier base and begin selling Shein-branded clothing abroad in the next six to twelve months.

    As per stories published in the media, the Singapore-based e-commerce company, which was started in China, has been in talks with the Indian retailer about plans ever since the US put tariffs on Chinese goods, which made sourcing more difficult. The goal is to increase the number of Indian suppliers from 150 to 1,000 in a year.

    Shein said it licensed its brand for use in India. Shein sells inexpensive clothing, like dresses for $5 and pants for $10, that are supplied straight from 7,000 Chinese vendors to consumers in about 150 countries. Its largest market is the United States, where it is acclimating to tariffs on low-value, duty-free Chinese e-commerce packages.

    As part of government action against companies with ties to China amid border tensions with its northeast neighbour, the shop started in India in 2018, but its app was blocked in 2020. In February, it made a comeback under a licensing agreement with the Reliance Industries division, which established SheinIndia.in to sell clothing bearing the Shein name made in nearby factories. Shein’s other websites, on the other hand, primarily feature Chinese products.

    Reliance Building its Garment Manufacturing Network

    As per reports, Reliance, which is owned by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has agreements with 150 clothing manufacturers and is in talks with 400 more. Within a year, 1,000 Indian manufacturers are expected to produce Shein-branded clothing for the Indian market as well as to supply some of Shein’s international websites.

    Shein initially intends to list clothing made in India on its websites in the US and the UK. Discussions have been going on for months, and depending on the number of suppliers, the six- to 12-month launch date may change.

    Reliance, which handles manufacturing, supply chain management, sales, and operations in the Indian market, has been granted a domestic brand licence by Shein, the company announced in a statement.

    The goal of the Shein-Reliance alliance, according to Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, was to establish a network of Indian suppliers of Shein-branded clothing for sale “domestically and globally” in December.

    Shein Gaining Popularity in India

    Shein is a massive fast-fashion company that makes over $30 billion a year thanks to its aggressive marketing and inexpensive costs. Although some of its items are created in Turkey and Brazil, the majority come from China.

    The company’s expansion in India is indicative of the interest in the country from Walmart and other global fashion and retail companies, particularly those seeking suppliers outside of China as a result of the Sino-US trade conflict.

    According to data from market research firm Sensor Tower, the Shein India app has been downloaded 2.7 million times on the Apple and Google Play stores, with an average monthly growth of 120%.

    Only 12,000 designs have been offered in the first four months, which is a small portion of the 600,000 products on its US website. As of June 9, the cheapest item in the women’s dresses category is 349 Indian rupees ($4), while the US website charges $3.39.

  • After Being Banned, Isha and Mukesh Ambani Bring Back Shein to India

    Nearly five years after the fast-fashion giant’s app was blocked in India due to rising diplomatic tensions between India and its neighbour, China, Isha and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail has successfully reintroduced Shein in India. Shein has returned to one of Asia’s biggest retail markets with the recently released Shein India Fast Fashion app, which was created under a license agreement with Reliance.

    Reliance’s control over operations and data, with all consumer information retained in India, is one of the strict requirements attached to this agreement. The action also represents a change of strategy for Reliance, which aims to expand its online presence by providing Shein’s well-liked, reasonably priced clothing on a completely localised platform.

    Nearly five years after its app was banned in India due to diplomatic concerns between China and India, Reliance Retail has formally restored its presence in the country by launching a new app to sell fashionwear from China’s Shein. According to sources, the app, Shein India Fast Fashion, was secretly released on Saturday morning; however, Reliance has not yet released an official statement.

    Why Shien is Riding on Reliance’s Back?

    Founded in 2012 in China and currently based in Singapore, Shein gained popularity for selling stylish yet reasonably priced Western clothing. It suffered a blow in 2020, though, when India blocked Shein and other Chinese apps like TikTok due to national security concerns in the midst of escalating border issues between the two nations. As a result, customers could no longer access the site, which had been very popular in India.

    Shein is currently reviving in India despite the setback thanks to a license agreement with billionaire Mukesh Ambani‘s Reliance Retail. Reliance will pay a licensing fee to use the Shein brand name as part of this partnership, but no equity investment will be made.

    The transaction marks a substantial departure from Reliance’s typical approach, even if the company has not yet made the financial details public. With the new agreement, Shein will have a dedicated platform for Indian consumers instead of just adding foreign brands to its existing Ajio fashion app, where it presently sells brands like Superdry and Gap.

    Shein’s return is significant since the business will be operating under strict guidelines. Shein will only serve as a technological partner, while Reliance will maintain exclusive control over the platform and its operations. The fact that all client data would be kept locally in India and that Shein will not have access to it is a key requirement of this relationship.

    This action supports the Indian government’s initiatives to preserve sensitive consumer data and uphold data sovereignty. To guarantee adherence to India’s stringent data standards, Shein will also need to submit to routine security audits conducted by cybersecurity companies that have been approved by the government.

    What New Shein India App Will Offer

    Dresses for as little as 199 rupees (about $2.30) are among the many affordable fashion items available on the new Shein India app. Customers will first be able to use the app in a few cities, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, and New Delhi, with hopes to quickly expand to more areas. One of the app’s noteworthy characteristics is that, in keeping with India’s efforts to strengthen its domestic textile sector, all Shein-branded products offered through the platform would be created and produced locally by Indian producers.

    Why It’s a Win-Win Deal for Both Reliance and Shein?

    Reliance’s decision to relaunch Shein in India is a component of a larger plan to bolster its online presence and subvert the dominance of competitors like Flipkart, Amazon, and Meesho, particularly in the fiercely competitive fashion e-commerce market. Even though it has the biggest retail chain in the nation, Reliance has had difficulty breaking through in the online retail space. With the recent introduction of quick delivery options like same-day delivery under 30 minutes for some orders on its Myntra platform, Flipkart in particular has been a formidable rival in the fashion e-commerce market.

    As it gets ready for a possible public listing, this partnership offers Shein a calculated chance to re-enter one of Asia’s biggest and fastest-growing retail sectors. Following its unsuccessful bid to list in the United States due to lawmakers’ concerns about China’s rules that companies seek government approval before listing overseas, the platform has been preparing to go public in London later this year.

    Over 300 platforms have been impacted by India’s continuous prohibition on Chinese applications since 2020; this cooperation is a rare exception. Several Indian government agencies, including IT and Home Affairs, conducted a thorough screening procedure before approving Shein’s return, paying particular emphasis to making sure Shein complied with the country’s strict cybersecurity and data protection regulations. The alliance intends to support the expansion of India’s textile manufacturing industry while protecting data privacy and national security objectives, according to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.

    All things considered, Shein’s return to India under the Reliance collaboration marks a dramatic change in the fast-fashion sector in India and not only a win for Shein but also for the changing nature of global trade in the area. Shein’s affordable products, along with Reliance’s wide distribution and domestic production, have the potential to upend the competitive environment as the company continues to establish itself in the Indian retail sector, especially in the online fashion retail space.

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  • Reliance and Shein Form Partnership to Introduce Rapid Fashion in India

    After a year of reportedly forging a strategic partnership, Reliance Retail Ventures is planning to launch the Chinese fast-fashion brand Shein in India in the coming weeks. Reliance Retail reportedly owns and operates physical stores as well as an app where users may purchase products of Shein.

    India banned Shein from selling its products on its own app in 2020 as part of a larger crackdown on Chinese applications in response to rising border concerns between the two nations; this move comes four years later. Manish Chopra, a former director at Meta (Facebook), is reportedly going to be hired by Reliance Retail to head up Shein’s operations in India.

    How the Reliance-Shein Partnership will work?

    The business is also setting up boutique studios in specific European towns to track Western fast fashion trends and immediately ship them to India. Officials from Reliance Retail said that a separate company will run the operations, and that Shein would not be investing in the company in any way. One of them said, “Shein is expected to be paid a licence fee as a share of the profit of the Indian company, and any payment to Shein will only be made out of profits of the Indian company.”

    Indians’ Shopping Habit

    Although a large portion of the population in India has access to smartphones and the internet, the data show that this does not translate to much when it comes to purchasing clothing. Only 4% of Indians prefer to purchase online entirely, according to a survey by Localcircles (a community social media platform). The remaining 47% prefer to shop in stores. About 40% of people like a combination of the two, and the majority prefer the “touch, feel, and try” approach.

    On the contrary, the convenience of online returns and the prevalence of sales were major factors in people preferring to shop online. Immediate gratification and hassle-free exchanges and refunds are two further advantages.

    How Shein has an advantage with this partnership?

    Because of its physical stores and online marketplace, Shein might be able to meet the needs of all sorts of Indian customers. Also, in the year ending in March, the fast fashion industry in India had a growth of about 30%. According to Redseer (a market research firm), this is five times larger than the overall fashion segment.

    Top worldwide garment manufacturers and retailers saw a 40-60% increase in sales from FY22 to FY23, according to media reports. These brands and shops include Zara, Uniqlo, Pepe jeans, Levi’s, and many more. This exemplifies the increasing demand for fashion products in India, an opportunity that Reliance may seize by partnering with Shein.