5 years after it was banned, China’s Shein returns to India

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail will pay a licence fee to use Shein’s brand name, according to people with direct knowledge of deal

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Shein, founded in China in 2012 and later headquartered in Singapore, offers a vast selection of low-priced Western clothes. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:42pm, 2 Feb 2025

Reliance Retail has launched an app in India to sell fashionwear from China’s Shein under a licensing deal, almost five years since Shein’s app was banned in the country after getting caught up in a diplomatic tussle.

Reliance, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, launched the app on Saturday morning, said a person with direct knowledge of Reliance’s launch plans. The firm did not announce the launch.

Neither parent Reliance Industries nor Shein responded to requests for comment outside business hours.

The Shein India Fast Fashion app represents a departure from Reliance’s strategy of adding brands to its flagship fashion app Ajio – whose offering includes Superdry and Gap – as it competes with rivals such as Myntra from Walmart’s Flipkart.

Shein, founded in China in 2012 and later headquartered in Singapore, offers a vast selection of low-priced Western clothes. Its app was banned in India in 2020 alongside other Chinese apps such as ByteDance’s TikTok due to data security concerns, after a border dispute soured bilateral relations.

A company logo for Shein is seen on a pile of gift bags. Offerings on the Shein India Fast Fashion app include dresses priced as low as 350 rupees (US$4). Photo: Reuters

Last year, India’s government disclosed to parliament that Reliance had entered an agreement with Shein under which Indian manufacturers would supply products under the Shein brand. It did not make any other details public.