By Mimosa Spencer
PARIS (Reuters) -Protesters bearing "Shame on Shein" placards gathered outside a Paris department store on Wednesday, hours before the opening of the online fast-fashion retailer's first ever permanent shop amid fierce criticism of its low-cost business model.
Dozens of shoppers also lined up outside the BHV department store before Shein's opening at 1 p.m. (1200 GMT) and store workers handed pastries out to the queue.
The Chinese firm was approached to set up a concession by Société
des Grands Magasins (SGM), which is hoping the launch will attract a younger clientele to its struggling BHV department store. Five of SGM's regional department stores are also set to host Shein shops.
SHEIN ACCUSED OF ERODING HIGH STREET TRADE
However the plan has attracted criticism from French politicians and retailers, who say that Shein's low-cost business model has an unfair advantage and has eroded French high streets.
The discovery of childlike sex dolls on Shein's website has fuelled further outcry, with French authorities on Tuesday saying they would investigate the platform along with others over alleged dissemination of contents including child pornography on their marketplaces. Shein said it had sanctioned the sellers and implemented a ban on sex dolls.
"I am very proud today to give for the first time in the world a physical dimension to this brand Shein," SGM owner Frederic Merlin told BFM TV on Wednesday.
Shein is trying to show it can positively impact French retailers rather than stealing their customers, and posters in the Paris metro are advertising an opening day deal: whatever shoppers spend at Shein, they get as a voucher to spend at other shops within BHV.
The size of Shein's business in France is not known and the company did not reply to Reuters when asked about its revenues in the country, but according to its latest "transparency report" required by the EU under regulations on large platforms, Shein had 27.3 million average monthly users in France between February and July.
Globally, Shein made $37 billion in revenues in 2024 and $1.3 billion in profit, according to a filing by its parent company Roadget Business Pte Ltd in Singapore.
(Reporting by Dominique Patton, Helen Reid, Inti Landauro, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
