Mukesh Ambani and Isha Ambani Face Setback as Shein Struggles to Gain Traction in India
In February 2025, Reliance Retail, led by Isha Ambani—the only daughter of billionaire Mukesh Ambani—relaunched the popular Chinese fast-fashion brand Shein in the Indian market. This marked Shein’s return nearly five years after the Indian government banned the original Shein app amid rising India-China tensions.
Shein’s Return Fails to Create Impact
Despite the much-anticipated comeback, Shein has failed to replicate its earlier success in India. According to AppMagic, a US-based app performance tracker, daily downloads of the Shein India app dropped drastically from 50,000 in February 2025, shortly after its relaunch, to just 3,311 by early April.
Although the app saw renewed media attention following the US-China tariff disputes, industry experts remain skeptical about whether this interest will lead to sustainable growth in India.
Reliance’s Struggle to Crack India’s E-commerce Market
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has long been attempting to capture a significant share of India’s booming e-commerce sector, dominated by Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart, which together control around 60% of the market.
Despite major investments and acquisitions across digital services, online pharmaceuticals, quick commerce, and online retail in the past five years, Reliance has yet to pose a serious challenge to these market leaders.
Leveraging Shein’s AI Capabilities: A Strategic Bet
Market analysts believe that Isha Ambani and Reliance Retail placed big hopes on Shein’s AI-powered trendspotting and automated inventory management systems. India’s e-commerce market is projected to reach $345 billion by 2030, and Reliance aims to leverage its vast customer data—over 476 million Jio subscribers, 300 million JioMart users, and 452 million subscribers across its entertainment platforms—to feed Shein’s AI algorithms for customized inventory and enhanced consumer experience.
Shein’s original global platform uses AI models to detect fashion trends and optimize warehousing before manufacturing new products. The Shein website boasts a catalog of over 600,000 items at any time, with manufacturing adjusted dynamically based on customer feedback.
The Indian Version Falls Short
Despite these technological advantages, the Shein India app has not lived up to the original Chinese platform. User reviews on Google Play and the Apple App Store highlight issues such as higher prices and fewer product choices, which have dampened consumer enthusiasm.
A Watered-Down Shein?
The Shein relaunched by Reliance is markedly different from the global brand. Rather than directly selling Chinese-made clothes and accessories, Shein now functions primarily as a technology partner. Reliance Retail manages everything from sourcing and manufacturing to distribution and consumer data management.
This diluted version of Shein has not resonated well with Indian consumers, adding to Reliance’s ongoing challenges in the competitive e-commerce landscape.
Despite the strong leadership of Mukesh and Isha Ambani and the strategic use of AI technology, Shein’s relaunch in India has so far been underwhelming. While Reliance continues to invest heavily in e-commerce, Amazon and Flipkart maintain a dominant hold on the market. It remains to be seen whether Reliance and Shein can turn this setback into a long-term success story.
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