Chinese fashion giant Shein re-enters India five years after ban

Chinese fast-fashion app Shein has relaunched in the Indian market through a deal with Indian company Reliance Retail, five years after being banned in Delhi. This move marks Shein's return to the Indian market and has attracted widespread attention.

An unnamed Reliance Retail official revealed to the BBC that the company has reached a long-term licensing agreement with Shein's parent company to sell products manufactured and sourced in India on the platform. Currently, the group has not issued a formal announcement. Shein's return to the Indian market comes with strict conditions, including that all data must be stored within India, as stated by Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal last December.

In 2020, India banned dozens of Chinese apps, including Shein and TikTok, citing data security concerns. This followed clashes between Chinese and Indian troops in a disputed area of the Himalayan border, which led to strained relations between the two countries. Shein's relaunch is a significant shift in this context. The app was launched in India last Friday night and has been downloaded over 10,000 times to date, offering fashion apparel as low as 199 rupees (approximately $2.30).

Currently, Shein is only available to consumers in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, but according to a notification on the app, it will soon be available across India. Over the past decade, Shein has grown from a brand little known among older shoppers to become one of the world's largest fast-fashion retailers. Today, it ships to customers in 150 countries globally. Before the ban, Shein was very popular in India, offering people a wide range of options to buy fashionable designs at affordable prices. The ban initially left a void in the Indian market, which was later filled by many local businesses.

Experts say that by partnering with Shein India, Reliance Retail, owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is diversifying its existing strategy of selling international brands through its flagship online retailer Ajio. Goyal told the Indian Parliament last December that the revival comes with strict conditions, namely that Reliance Retail will have complete control over its operations and data, while Shein will act as a technology partner. All customer and app data will be stored in India, and Shein will have no access. Goyal also clarified that it was the app that was banned in India, not "the sale of products under the Shein brand."

An official at Reliance Retail stated that Shein will use India as a "sourcing hub for its global operations" and will help Reliance Retail "build a network" and train Indian garment manufacturers to promote exports of Indian textiles and clothing. Shein's return after reaching an agreement with Reliance Retail is a rare exception to India's ban on over 200 Chinese apps in the past five years. At the time, Indian officials said the ban was due to numerous complaints that these apps were "stealing and secretly transmitting user data in an unauthorized manner."

ByteDance's TikTok and the popular battle royale survival game PUBG were also banned. However, PUBG was later rebranded as Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) and launched for the Indian market, held by Krafton India.