Isha Ambani’s Reliance Retail reintroduces Shein in India
Reliance Retail, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his daughter Isha Ambani, has relaunched Shein in India, nearly five years after the fast-fashion giant was banned in the country in the wake of diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Beijing.
Developed under a licensing agreement with Reliance, Shein will be reintroduced in the country with a newly launched app, named Shein India Fast Fashion.
“The OG is back,” a message displayed upon opening the app said. “We’re shipping in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane. Pan-India shipping very soon.”
Currently, Shein is offering designed and made-in-India dresses priced as low as ₹350. These products will also later be made available on Ajio, according to reports.
Founded in China in 2012, Shein offers a large selection of low-priced Western clothes. India banned the app in 2020 alongside other Chinese apps, including ByteDance’s TikTok due to data security concerns.
The government had informed the parliament last year that Reliance had partnered with the company to sell products under its name.
However, there is no equity investment in the partnership and Reliance will pay a license fee for using the brand name. Meanwhile, Reliance is yet to publicly discuss the financial details, considering the agreement is seen as a crucial shift from its usual strategy.
Shein is also preparing for a London stock market listing in the first half of the year after removing its US IPO plans due to regulatory hurdles and challenges from US lawmakers.
