Club Factory is a Chinese e-commerce store offering products in fashion, beauty and lifestyle segments. It was founded in the year 2014 and is headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Club Factory entered multiple international markets, including India, United States, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Club Factory was particularly strong in India, which became its major market. India accounted for 40 million of Club Factory’s global user base of 70 million by the year 2019. Major reasons for the store’s popularity in India were trendy products, affordable prices and free shipping. At its peak, the store had 70 million users in India and was particularly popular in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities across India.
Ban in India
On 29th June 2020, the Government of India banned 59 Chinese apps, including Club Factory. The ban was imposed by invoking Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Reasons cited for the ban included concerns over Chinese state influence over the apps, sovereignty, data privacy and national security. The move to ban Club Factory and other Chinese apps came in the wake of clashes between Indian and Chinese security forces at Galwan Valley in Ladakh.
Announcing the ban, the Government of India issued a statement which said that the Ministry of Information and Technology had received several complaints from various sources, including reports, which pointed to the misuse of some mobile apps on Android and iOS for the purpose of stealing and transmitting user data to servers located outside India. The government added that emergency measures had become necessary because the mining and profiling of user data by elements inimical to the defence and national security of India posed a threat to the sovereignty and integrity of India.
The ban on Club Factory and other Chinese apps was made permanent in January 2021, after the apps failed to address the security concerns raised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Club Factory suspended its operations in India in July 2020.
Current Status
Club Factory continues to face a ban in India. Its website is inaccessible and mobile application is not present on Play Store and App Store in the country. The company’s global operations are very limited due to intense regulatory scrutiny and competition. Moreover, loss of its major market has significantly diminished Club Factory.
Club Factory is embroiled in a controversy in India. Post-ban, Club Factory stopped payments to numerous registered sellers on its platform and has not paid up the pending dues till date.
Santosh Kumar is a Professional SEO and Blogger, With the help of this blog he is trying to share top 10 lists, facts, entertainment news from India and all around the world.
