Will Reliance Retail Bring Back Shein in India? Chinese fast fashion company, Shein, is eyeing a comeback to India with the help of Ambani owned Reliance Industries' subsidiary, Reliance Retail.

Chinese fast fashion company, Shein, is eyeing a comeback to India with the help of Ambani owned Reliance Industries Limited's subsidiary, Reliance Retail. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail Ventures is set to launch Shien in India under their company operations. As per reports from ET, Shein will be reintroduced to the India market in the coming few weeks. The fast fashion company's products will be made available via online app as well as offline stores owned and operated by Reliance Retail.

This tie-up is the latest in a myriad of deals by Reliance Industries, specifically Reliance Retail, which has brought international brands such as Tiffany & Co and ASOS to India. Former Meta director Manish Chopra is chosen to head Shein's operations in India, ET reported, citing executives directly aware of the development.

Reliance Retail is on a mission to bridge the fashion gap between east and west. The company is setting up exclusive studios in key European cities to tap into the latest fast fashion trends and swiftly bring them to Indian shores. This fashion-forward initiative is fully owned and operated by Reliance Retail, with no equity ties to Shein. Instead, Shein will receive a licensing fee based on a share of the Indian company's profits, a source told ET.

What happened to Shien?

Following a border conflict, Shein, along with multiple Chinese apps, were banned from the Indian market. In a bold move to safeguard user data, the Indian government enforced a ban on several popular apps, including TikTok and WeChat, as well as multiple fast fashion retailers. The decision came after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) received complaints that these apps were covertly exporting Indian users' data to foreign servers. Invoking the provisions of Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, the government has taken a strong stance to protect the privacy and security of its citizens' digital information.

Reliance Retail is set to spearhead Shein's India re-entry through a wholly-owned subsidiary, with the Chinese fashion giant receiving a licence fee pegged to Reliance Retail's profit share, as reported by ET. In a significant move to ensure data security, all sensitive and critical information will be hosted and stored exclusively in India, with Shein having no access or control over the data, as per the report. This setup ensures that user data remains firmly within India's borders, reassuring concerns around data privacy and security.