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

Chinese brand Shein, in collaboration with Reliance Retail, is planning to expand its Indian supplier network and start international sales of Shein-branded and made in India within six to 12 months, according to a Reuters report.

Shein has been in talks with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail prior to the U.S. imposing tariffs on Chinese imports. The goal is to increase the number of Indian suppliers from the current 150 to 1,000 within a year, the report revealed citing sources.

In a statement to Reuters, Shein said its partnership with Reliance was limited to the licensing of its brand to Reliance Retail for Indian domestic consumption only. Reliance did not respond to queries.

Shein sells low-priced apparel such as $5 dresses and $10 jeans shipped directly from 7,000 suppliers in China to customers in around 150 countries. Its biggest market is the U.S. where it is adjusting to tariffs on low-value e-commerce packages from China which could previously be imported duty free.

The retailer launched in India in 2018 but its app was banned in 2020 as part of government action against China-linked firms amid border tension with its northeastern neighbour.

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

Reliance, controlled by Asia’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani, has contracted 150 garment manufacturers and is in discussion with 400 more, said the two people, declining to be identified due to confidentiality concerns.

The goal is 1,000 Indian factories making Shein-branded clothes within a year for both the Indian market and to service some of Shein‘s global websites, the people said.

Shein initially wants to list India-made clothes on its U.S. and British websites, one of the people said. Discussions have been ongoing for months and the launch time of six to 12 months could change depending on supplier numbers, the person said.

The scale of supplier expansion and export time frame is being reported for the first time.

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

Author Credits- Anirudha Yerunkar
India.com