Fashion retailer Shein and its Indian partner Reliance Retail have ambitious plans to significantly expand their Indian supplier base and begin selling India-made Shein-branded clothing internationally within the next six to twelve months. According to sources familiar with the matter, the goal is to increase the number of Indian suppliers from 150 to 1,000 within a year. This expansion is part of a broader strategy that began before the U.S. imposed tariffs on Chinese imports, which accelerated the need for Shein to diversify its sourcing away from China.

Shein, a China-founded and Singapore-headquartered e-commerce company, licenses its brand to Reliance for use in the Indian market. The company initially launched its app in India in 2018, but it was banned in 2020 amid government actions against Chinese-linked firms during border tensions between India and China. The brand re-entered the Indian market in February under a licensing deal with Reliance Industries, which now operates SheinIndia.in, offering Shein-branded clothing produced locally in Indian factories. This local manufacturing contrasts with Shein’s other global websites, which predominantly feature products sourced from China.

Reliance, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest person, has already contracted 150 garment manufacturers and is in discussions with 400 more to meet the target of 1,000 Indian factories producing Shein-branded apparel within a year. These products will serve both the domestic market and some of Shein’s global websites, including the U.S. and U.K. markets. Discussions about listing India-made clothes on Shein’s international websites have been ongoing for months, and the timeline for launch—six to twelve months—may shift based on supplier readiness.

Shein operates on an on-demand manufacturing model, which means suppliers initially produce small batches (as few as 100 pieces per design) to test market demand before scaling up production for best-selling items. Reliance aims to emulate this model, working closely with suppliers to replicate Shein’s global best-sellers at lower costs. Executives from Reliance recently visited China to study Shein’s innovative supply chain, data-driven design processes, and disruptive digital marketing strategies. Manish Aziz, Assistant Vice President of Shein India at Reliance Retail, described Shein’s scale and speed as “truly incredible.”

The partnership with Shein is one among several that Reliance maintains with leading fashion brands such as Brooks Brothers and Marks & Spencer. Reliance also operates the e-commerce platform Ajio and competes with major players like Amazon and Flipkart, as well as value-focused retailers such as Tata’s Zudio.

To support this expansion, Reliance plans to collaborate with new suppliers, especially to source fabric made with synthetic fibers, an area where India currently lacks expertise. They also plan to import necessary machinery and invest in supplier development to help them scale. This investment is expected to support the Shein-Reliance partnership’s ambitions to grow both in India and internationally.

The move reflects a wider trend of global fashion and retail companies, including Walmart and others, increasingly turning to India as a sourcing hub amid the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade tensions. Shein’s Indian app has been downloaded 2.7 million times and is growing rapidly, with a 120% month-on-month growth rate. The company has introduced around 12,000 designs in India within its first four months, though this remains a fraction of the 600,000 products available on its U.S. website.

In summary, the Shein-Reliance collaboration aims to create a robust Indian supply chain for Shein-branded apparel, leveraging local manufacturing and on-demand production models. This will not only boost India’s garment sector but also integrate it into global fashion supply chains, helping Shein diversify its sourcing and expand its global footprint amid shifting trade dynamics.