Shein To Relaunch Business in India Under Strict Licensing Rules — Retail Bum

Fast fashion giant Shein has received the necessary approvals to re-enter the Indian market under a strict licensing agreement with Reliance Industries.

Under the terms of the agreement, Reliance will fully own and operate Shein’s production unit in the country and offer support and training to more than 25,000 small- to mid-sized suppliers.

The production unit could support the export of up to $6.1 billion worth of apparel and accessories if the manufacturing facilities are able to meet a quarter of Shein’s global demand.

Shein will also have to store all app-related data of Indian users on servers in the country, and the data will remain inaccessible to the company to maintain compliance with the Indian government’s requirements, according to Bloomberg.

The agreement will still allow Shein to receive a cut of the sales and tap into the rising demand in the world’s most populous country if the business turns a profit.

The company’s planned relaunch in India comes three years after it was forced to shut its operations. In 2020, the Indian government banned several Chinese businesses from operating in the country following deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers on the Himalayan border.

India’s willingness to work with Shein comes amidst a broader push by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to establish India as an alternate manufacturing hub to China. The country has set a goal of doubling its annual exports to $2 trillion by 2030.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on June 23, 2023.