Sign In
How Urbanic avoided Shein’s fate and built a Rs 1,000 crore fast fashion empire
Pranav Balakrishnan
Pranav Balakrishnan
In five short years, Urbanic has gone from entrant to undisputed leader of India’s fast fashion space. With revenues doubling year on year, its biggest threat may not be the fast fashion rivals springing up all around it but its Chinese ties.
July 17, 2023
10 MINS READKey Takeaways
- After Shein’s exit from India in 2020, the company that has benefited the most is Urbanic
- From Rs 23 crore revenue in FY20, the fast fashion firm recorded revenues of well over Rs 1,000 crore in FY23
- Amidst Shein’s comeback and the rise of nascent Indian fast fashion startups, Urbanic is also changing
- Competition, though, is far from Urbanic’s only big threat. It is keen to play down its China links as well
In May, Chinese fast fashion e-commerce giant Shein confirmed it would be re-entering the Indian market through a partnership with Reliance Retail. The announcement came nearly three years after the Indian government banned Shein and 59 other Chinese apps—including ByteDance’s TikTok—following clashes between Indian and Chinese troops along the China-India border.
While a host of short video apps mushroomed almost overnight to try and fill the void left by TikTok exit, Shein’s heir was seemingly waiting in the wings. As India’s Gen-Z women scrambled for a new source for trendy, affordable fashion, they found their fix in Urbanic.
LatestStories
Fintech
Premium Reads
The F-word: With Zomato giving up its PA licence, is finance-as-a-feature losing steam?
By Dr Srinath Sridharan
Food Delivery
the-crux
How Zomato’s stellar stock performance in FY24 drove Nifty 500 gains
By Sohini Mitter
Funding winter
Premium Reads
The unicorn report card: A snapshot of how India’s top startups fared over the past 5 years
By Nikhil Patwardhan
For subscribers only
Deeply reported and objective news on the country´s fastest-growing companies and the people behind them.
8 Min Read
The F-word: With Zomato giving up its PA licence, is finance-as-a-feature losing steam?
By Dr Srinath Sridharan
9 Min Read
The unicorn report card: A snapshot of how India’s top startups fared over the past 5 years
By Nikhil Patwardhan
9 Min Read
Zomato's next frontier: Blinkit's expansion signals quick commerce takeover
By Pranav Balakrishnan
16 Min Read
Umang Bedi on Dailyhunt's rise and why he’s bullish about subscriptions and local short-video platforms
By Nikhil Patwardhan
11 Min Read
CEO exit highlights Ola’s mounting ride-hailing struggles
By Pranav Balakrishnan
9 Min Read
How Pocket FM won over Middle America to hit $160 Mn in ARR
By Sohini Mitter