Reliance Retail to get back Shein via tech agreement
Shein will operate only as a tech provider while Reliance Retail will maintain full ownership of the platform.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries.
Chinese fashion retail giant Shein is set to return to India on strict data monitoring conditions, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal informed the Lok Sabha on December 17, 2024.
Goyal, in his reply, said that Reliance Retail Ventures's subsidiary Reliance Retail has a technology partnership with Roadgate Business, the Singapore-based owner of Shein.
Shein will operate only as a tech provider while Reliance Retail will maintain full ownership of the platform, he added.
"The licence agreement covered the protection that ownership and control of the platform will always remain with RRVL through its subsidiary," Goyal said.
The platform will be hosted on infrastructure in India, and all data will remain within India with Shein having no access to or rights over such data.
Photo Credit: Instagram/Shein
"The platform is intended to create a network of local manufacturers and suppliers who will manufacture products under the brand of Shein and sell them domestically and globally. It is expected that this will help in growth of the Indian textiles manufacturing sector including local handicrafts and create significant employment."
The minister also clarified that while the Shein app was banned in 2020, the sale of products was not banned in India. Shein was among a group of Chinese apps, including TikTok and WeChat, banned in India based on concerns over national security and data privacy.