Top News

The Shein launched in India in 2018 but its app was banned in 2020 after government action against China-linked firms over tension on the border.

Fashion retailer Shein and its partner Reliance Retail are preparing to expand their Indian supplier base and start exporting Shein-branded clothing made in India within the next six to 12 months, according to a report by Reuters.

China’s Shein has been working with Reliance Retail on these plans even before U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports were announced. The goal is to increase the number of Indian suppliers from 150 to 1,000 within a year, the report added citing sources.

In a statement to Reuters, Shein confirmed it had licensed its brand for use in India.  Shein sells low-priced clothes like $5 dresses and $10 jeans which are shipped directly from 7,000 suppliers in China to customers in around 150 countries. Its biggest market is the US where it is adjusting to tariffs on low-value e-commerce packages from China which were previously imported duty free.

As per the plan 1,000 Indian factories will be making Shein-branded clothes within a year for both the Indian market and to service some of Shein‘s global websites, the report said.

Shein initially wanted to list India-made clothes on its U.S. and British websites. Discussions are ongoing for months and the launch time of six to 12 months could change depending on supplier numbers, the Reuters report said citing a source.

Shein has licensed its brand for domestic use to Reliance which “is responsible for manufacturing, supply chain, sales and operations in the Indian market,” Shein said in a statement.

In December, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal told parliament that the Shein-Reliance partnership is to create a network of Indian suppliers of Shein-branded clothes for sale “domestically and globally”.

But this year in February it returned under a licensing deal with the Reliance Industries unit which launched SheinIndia.in selling Shein-branded clothes produced in local factories. But Shein‘s other websites mainly list goods from China.

(With Inputs From Agencies)