Ultra-fast fashion and ‘childlike’ sex dolls: Why Shein isn’t winning friends in France

By Joseph Ataman, CNN

Paris (CNN) — In the spiritual home of fashion, the newest kid on the block is most definitely not welcome.

Chinese-founded e-commerce giant Shein is set to open its first brick-and-mortar store in the world in Paris Wednesday, amid a storm of outrage in France over the platform’s reputation for throwaway fashion and a headline-roiling scandal over the sale of “childlike” sex dolls.

From Wednesday, Shein will set up shop in BHV, one of the French capital’s most famous department stores, before rolling out its clothing range in five of France’s well-known Galeries Lafayette malls elsewhere in the country. Galeries Lafayette and BHV both belong to the Société des Grands Magasins (SGM) group.

“The city of Paris reaffirms that Shein is contrary to its values,” Paris Deputy Mayor Nicolas Bonnet-Oulaldj told journalists outside BHV Tuesday. “We ask the Minister of the Economy to go further than just making threats and to ban the Shein platform in France.”

Such is the strength of feeling around Shein’s touchdown in France that Galeries Lafayette published a statement in late October slamming SGM’s decision to force Shein – a brand “in contradiction with their offer and their values” – upon them.

In retaliation, SGM Tuesday ordered five of the Galeries Lafayette malls to rebrand as BHV, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV, dealing a crippling blow to a household name brand in France.

“Our capital cannot become the showcase for disposable goods and exploitation,” Ian Brossat, a senator for Paris from the French Communist Party, said in a statement Monday. “This partnership goes against all the commitments taken by France and Paris to more firmly regulate the fashion industry.”

This week, Frédéric Merlin, head of SGM, pushed back against criticism of the deal with Shein, pointing to its popularity with consumers.

“We’re speaking of a brand that is regularly bought by 25 million French customers, who are today considered bad people because they buy from this platform?” he said in an interview Tuesday with RTL radio.

But critics believe that Paris’ reputation for haute couture, bespoke elegance and exclusive design couldn’t be further from the disposable culture epitomized by Shein’s ultra-low-price, accessible-to-all clothing.

Some see a double irony in Shein making landfall in Paris, home to the eponymous landmark climate agreement signed in 2016, given wide concerns over its environmental impact.

The Chinese platform has become the bogeyman figurehead of the fast-fashion industry, accused of paying scant regard to sustainable manufacturing and the environmental costs of mass global shipping. Shein, however, says its model allows it to avoid waste and overproduction.

In recent years, Paris has sought to make itself a leader on “green” issues, championing bicycle travel and low-carbon business practices, and making sustainability a key pillar of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Evacuate the building

In response to Shein’s arrival, 12 brands have already announced they will remove their products from BHV’s shelves, among them prominent French clothes makers like Figaret and Armor Lux, known for their rootedness in French design and manufacturing.

Perhaps the biggest name to distance itself from BHV is Disney, with Disneyland Paris abandoning plans to design BHV’s famous Christmas window displays this year, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.

On Monday, BHV director Karl-Stéphane Cottendin played down the significance of the brands’ departure from a flock of “more than 2,000 brands” in BHV’s stable. “Everyone is free to make their own decisions,” he said in an interview with BFMTV. “We have no problem at all with that.”

Opposition to Shein’s arrival in Paris was clear from the earliest announcement of its partnership with BHV. But the mall’s boss has looked to exploit the controversy.

A storeys-high poster showing SMG president and BHV owner Frederic Merlin with Shein boss Donald Tang was hung on the BHV façade in Paris last week, emblazoned with the words: “The poster that we shouldn’t have made?”

The taunting nature of the poster was only heightened by its location, flying literally in the face of Paris’ city hall – one of the most vocal opponents to Shein’s arrival – which sits across the street from BHV.

Hard landing

Shein’s touchdown in Paris was almost scuppered by a scandal that rocked France over the weekend. The French finance minister threated to ban the Chinese platform from the country after revelations that “childlike sex dolls” were being sold on the e-commerce site.

France’s High Commissioner for Children Sarah El-Haïry slammed the availability of the products on Shein’s site. “No one has the right to buy pedo-criminal dolls. These are deliberate miniature copies of children that hold teddy bears, that wear children’s clothing,” she said Monday, branding the buyers as “potential predators.”

Also on Monday, French authorities launched investigations into Shein, Temu, AliExpress and Wish for allegedly disseminating “violent, pornographic, or degrading messages accessible to a minor,” as well as further investigations into Shein and AliExpress for allegedly spreading “images or depictions of minors of a pornographic nature,” according to the Paris Prosecutor’s office.

CNN reached out to Temu, AliExpress and Wish for comment on the investigations.

In a statement to CNN Monday, Shein’s executive chairman Tang said that, while “every seller is responsible for their own listings,” the company had banned all sales of sex dolls and upped its internal protections. Shein will cooperate with the official investigation, the statement said.

SGM chief Merlin told RTL radio Tuesday that he had been preparing to cancel the partnership with Shein following news of the sex doll sales. Shein’s moves to ban them saved the launch, he said.

BHV leaders doubled down on their welcome for Shein, with Cottendin telling journalists Monday: “I believe that what is happening, which we condemn, reminds of the necessity of a store, because in a physical store these types of situations would never have taken place.”

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