Shein and Reliance to expand India-made clothing sales globally

Fashion retailer Shein and its partner Reliance Retail plan to rapidly expand their Indian supplier base and sell India-made Shein-branded clothes overseas within six to 12 months, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The sources said that the China-founded, Singapore-headquartered e-commerce company began discussing its expansion plans with Reliance Retail before the U.S. imposed tariffs on Chinese imports, which prompted Shein to diversify its sourcing. The partners aim to increase the number of Indian suppliers to 1,000 from 150 within a year.

Shein told Reuters in a statement that it licensed its brand for use in India. Reliance did not respond to queries.

Shein sells low-priced apparel — such as $5 dresses and $10 jeans — directly to customers in around 150 countries, sourcing from 7,000 suppliers in China. The U.S. remains its largest market. Shein is now adjusting to new tariffs on low-value e-commerce packages from China that previously qualified for duty-free import.

The retailer launched in India in 2018. In 2020, the Indian government banned its app as part of a broader action targeting China-linked firms during heightened border tensions.

In February, Shein returned under a licensing deal with Reliance Industries, which launched SheinIndia.in to sell Shein-branded clothes made in local factories. In contrast, Shein’s other websites primarily offer goods from China.

Reliance, controlled by Asia’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani, has already contracted 150 garment manufacturers and is in discussions with 400 more, according to the two sources, who requested anonymity due to confidentiality concerns.

The partners aim to have 1,000 Indian factories producing Shein-branded clothing within a year, serving both the Indian market and select Shein global websites, the sources said.

According to one source, Shein initially plans to list India-made clothes on its U.S. and British websites. The discussions have been ongoing for months. The targeted launch window of six to 12 months may shift depending on how quickly they scale their supplier base.

This article marks the first time the supplier expansion scale and export timeline have been reported.

Shein confirmed that it licensed its brand for domestic use to Reliance. The company stated, “Reliance is responsible for manufacturing, supply chain, sales, and operations in the Indian market.”

In December, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal informed Parliament that the Shein-Reliance partnership aimed to build a network of Indian suppliers to sell Shein-branded clothing “domestically and globally.”

On-demand manufacturing

Shein is a fast-fashion giant, earning more than $30 billion annually through low prices and aggressive marketing. Most of its products come from China, though it also sources from Turkey and Brazil.

Shein’s India expansion mirrors growing interest in the country from global fashion and retail players such as Walmart, who seek to diversify sourcing away from China amid the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade war.

According to data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, the Shein India app has already reached 2.7 million downloads across Apple and Google Play stores, averaging 120% month-on-month growth.

In its first four months, Shein India offered 12,000 designs — just a fraction of the 600,000 products on its U.S. site. In the women’s dresses category, its cheapest item sells for 349 Indian rupees ($4), compared to $3.39 on the U.S. site as of June 9.

Reliance, which operates the Shein India app, is collaborating with suppliers to determine whether they can reproduce Shein’s global best-sellers at lower cost, the sources said.

Reliance also plans to adopt Shein’s on-demand manufacturing model. The company has asked suppliers to produce as few as 100 pieces per design, scaling up production only for top-selling products.

Reliance executives recently visited China to study Shein’s “innovative” supply chain, “data-driven” design process, and “disruptive” digital marketing. Manish Aziz, assistant vice president of Shein India at Reliance Retail, described Shein’s scale and speed as “truly incredible” in a LinkedIn post.

This partnership adds to Reliance’s portfolio of fashion collaborations, which includes brands such as Brooks Brothers and Marks and Spencer. Reliance also operates the e-commerce platform Ajio and competes with Amazon, Walmart’s Flipkart, and value retailers such as Tata’s Zudio.

Reliance plans to work with new suppliers to source fabric — especially synthetic fibers, where India lacks expertise — and will import the necessary machinery, the sources said. Reliance also intends to invest in these suppliers to accelerate their growth and help scale the Shein-Reliance partnership globally.