I have to admit I absolutely loved the Reliance wedding. Oops, I meant to say the Ambani wedding. The youngest son of the legendary Mukesh Ambani, Anant, married an heiress, Radhika Merchant, in the wedding of the century, thanks to its pomp and ceremony. We were treated to possibly minute by minute updates thanks to their multiple and very buzzy social media accounts.
I think the Freudian slip of calling it a ‘Reliance wedding’ was thanks to its very public nature. The entire world was invited to watch. If you did not know or care who the Ambanis were, you would certainly be interested in what Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry were up to. It is a great way to launch yourself as an international brand, Reliance or the Ambanis, whichever.
I also love the fact that we were educated in multitudinous Indian crafts. Right from the finest embroideries to the most exquisitely made jewels to a lehenga hand-painted by a celebrated artist. Coincidentally, Reliance Retail launched Swadesh, a craft-first clothing label less than a year ago, which promises to take the mickey out of Fabindia, Anokhi and other textile enterprises. The more the merrier, I say, making the consumer a certain queen.
But last month’s announcement of Reliance Retail’s tie-up with Shein is vexing. It makes one believe that come what may, fashion cannot escape its dependence on fast fashion. With this partnership, Chinese fast fashion behemoth Shein is looking to re-enter the Indian market after it was thrown out, along with TikTok, by the Modi government in 2020, thanks to China’s transgressions on India’s Himalayan borders.
The Indian fast fashion market (ethnic labels as well as European ones like Zara and H&M) is estimated to be at $10 billion currently, and expected to reach $50 billion by 2031, according to a report by Redseer Strategy Consultants. Shein is the world’s largest fashion ecommerce retailer with an estimated revenue of $27 billion, according to Statista.
In this new partnership, Shein, which cannot be back in India independently, will be sold via Reliance’s ecommerce apps as well as in Reliance’s physical multi-brand stores. They will receive a licence fee for profit sharing from the India market. India’s large demographic also helps Shein reduce its dependence on the Chinese market for numbers. While Reliance can learn how to better its supply chain network, as Shein has the lowest-ever turnaround time for manufacturing (they take one week, whereas other fast fashion companies take one month). Shein is sold in 150 countries and has a social media following of 250 million.
Moreover, Shein is possibly the cheapest fast fashion manufacturer, with items costing as low as $3. Its CEO is the 40-year-old Xu Yangtian who does not give interviews and is completely shrouded in secrecy.
According to a report in Financial Times, Shein has kept its pricing minimal to make use of ‘de minimis’ rules, where low-priced items are exempted from customs duties while shipping to the EU, US and UK. The EU’s allowance is €150, while the US has a $800 ceiling. Shein has also faced allegations of unethical labour practices in its supply chain, which the company has denied. With their new announcement of listing in London’s IPO, all of this will be open to more scrutiny.
Fast fashion in India is a new and post-mall culture beast. It is fast catching up with the rest of the world. Reliance Retail must find a way to keep its commitment to slower practices of artisanal crafts.
X@namratazakaria