Exclusive Shine and Reliance aim to sell clothes made in India overseas within a year, sources say
Dwani Pandya and Helen Reed
MUMBAI/LONDON (Reuters) – Fashion retailer Shane and partner Reliance retail plan said they are two with knowledge of the issue to quickly expand their supplier base in India and begin international sales of Indian-made Sin brand clothing within six to 12 months.
China-founded Singapore-based Shane has been discussing plans with Indian retailers, people said, even before the US imposed tariffs on Chinese imports, which tightened the need to diversify its procurement. The aim is to raise Indian suppliers from 150 to 1,000 within a year, they said.
In a statement to Reuters, Sheen said the partnership with Reliance is limited to licensing the brand of Reliance retail for domestic consumption in India. Reliance did not respond to the query.
Shein sells low-cost apparel, including $5 dresses and $10 jeans, shipped directly from 7,000 Chinese suppliers to customers in around 150 countries. Its biggest market is the United States, which is adapted to tariffs for low-value e-commerce packages from China, which were previously imported with tax-free.
The retailer was launched in India in 2018, but the app was banned in 2020 as part of government actions against Chinese-related businesses amid border tensions with its northeastern neighbors.
It returned in February under a licensing agreement with the Reliance Industries unit, which launched Sheinindia. In contrast, other Shein websites primarily list products from China.
Reliance, controlled by Asia’s wealthiest man Mukesh Ambani, has contracted 150 clothing manufacturers and is discussing with another 400 people, the two said, who refused to be identified due to concerns about confidentiality.
People said the goal is 1,000 Indian factories that make Sheen branded clothing in both the Indian market within a year and serve some of Sheen’s global websites.
Shein initially wants to list Indian-made clothing on US and UK websites. The discussion has continued for several months, with the 6-12 month launch times potentially varying depending on the number of suppliers, the person said.
Supplier expansion and export time frame scale has been reported for the first time.
Shein has licensed the brand for Reliance’s domestic use with “responsible for manufacturing, supply chain, sales and operations in the Indian market alone.”
In December, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told Congress that the Shein-Reliance partnership was aimed at creating a network of Indian suppliers of Shein-branded clothing for sale “domestic and globally.”