Unpacking Shein’s comeback in India

Shein is preparing for a big comeback in India...right on the heels of a $2 billion fundraising round, no less.

The Chinese fast-fashion retailer has signed a deal with Indian company Reliance Retail to bring Shein back to the country as soon as this month, the Wall Street Journal first reported.

The Shein app was banned in India in 2020 alongside ~170 other Chinese apps, including TikTok, as the border conflicts between China and India worsened.In the interim, the retailer has been finding loopholes to engage with Indian consumers, like intermittently selling its products on Amazon and Indian e-commerce company Myntra.

But the Shein partnership—approved by the Indian government and backed by the richest man in the country, Mukesh Ambani—indicates that the government doesn’t view the company as a Chinese entity anymore, after it moved its headquarters to Singapore. The e-commerce giant doesn’t sell its own wares in China.

For Reliance, the primary benefit from the tie-up is likely being able to tap into Shein’s name recognition.

Meanwhile, Shein will be able to target consumers in the most populous country on the planet, and also diversify its supply chain beyond China. It plans to source fabrics from local businesses, and to set up a production hub in India that will allow the company to export to the Middle East, per the WSJ.