Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shen, once banned in India, may resume sales in the country through a partnership with Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) if all platform data is stored in India, without the company’s access or ownership rights. According to a parliamentary disclosure.
RRVL is also advised to ensure compliance with all existing laws of India and complete infrastructure security audit by any government listed cyber security auditor, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a reply in the Lok Sabha.
In 2020, more than 50 apps, including Shen, were banned by the government, which said these platforms posed a “threat to the sovereignty and integrity” of the country.
However, Sheen products were available in the online market through platforms like Amazon. Cases were also raised in the Delhi High Court.
Almost three years after the ban in India, Shane signed a partnership with Reliance Retail in 2023. The license agreement contained a safeguard that ownership and control of the platform would always remain with RRVL through its wholly owned subsidiary.
“The platform will be hosted on India’s infrastructure and all platform data will reside in India with Shane not having access or rights to such data,” Goyal said.
Established in 2008, Shane is known for its affordable pricing and is popular among thousands for its fashionable women’s wear and other clothing.
Chinese online fast fashion brand Sheen’s sale of “branded products” was not banned, although its app was blocked on June 29, 2020, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.
Sheen was one of the apps banned by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in June 2020 following tensions with China over the Himalayan border.
“The sale of Sheen-branded products in India was not banned,” Goyal told the Lok Sabha.
The country’s leading retailer Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), through its subsidiary RRL (Reliance Retail Limited), entered into a technology agreement with Shen’s owner Roadget Business Pte Ltd to develop an indigenous ecommerce retail platform.
The platform aims to create a network of local manufacturers and suppliers who will produce products under the Sheen brand and sell them domestically and globally.
“This is expected to help the growth of the Indian textile manufacturing sector, including local handicrafts, and generate significant employment,” Goyal said.
After the textile ministry consulted MeitY, which in turn consulted the home ministry, it had no objection to RRVL’s proposal, he added.
(With information from PTI)