Protesters outside BHV last week as the Parisian department store prepared to open its Shein shop to the public.
Photo: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Last Wednesday, as the upscale BHV department store in Paris prepared to open its Shein shop, the Chinese ultracheap fast-fashion giant’s first permanent store in the world, a mass of eager shoppers, gawking press, security guards, riot police, and angry protesters shouting “honte à vous” crowded around the entrance on the Rue de Rivoli. BHV’s owner, Frédéric Merlin, looked unfazed as he greeted the first shoppers on line before heading inside to cut a ribbon at the sixth-floor shop-in-shop. Later, one of the first shoppers of the day showed off her purchases, including a €19 crocheted sweater, to onlookers while chants from protesters could be heard faintly in the background. “La texture es jolie,” she said as she tied it over her shoulders and took questions like a celebrity at a press conference. “I love the Chinese,” she said.
Some of the first shoppers inside BHV’s Shein shop.
Photo: Getty Images
The arrival of Shein in France has been full of scandale and drama involving sex dolls, boycotts, and a ruptured retail partnership between two historic French department stores. Shein, one of the largest fast-fashion sites in the world, has been accused of serious labor-law violations, including instances of child labor and dangerous factory conditions, and it has been criticized by environmentalists for flooding the market with ultracheap, disposable fashion. Still, BHV is standing proudly behind its decision to welcome the controversial brand to Paris. Merlin posted on his personal Instagram on Sunday that 50,000 people had visited the Shein store even as the e-commerce company made horrible headlines last week. A French consumer-watchdog group filed a complaint after discovering Shein was selling a childlike sex doll that prompted a government investigation and possible suspension.
A representative for Shein said it temporarily paused listings from third-party vendors on its site while it reviewed its standards and said it would fully comply with the government investigation. The company appears to have avoided suspension for now, but the French government said it will continue to monitor for pornographic and unlawful items.
On opening day, protesters arrived with signs, including one that read, “Protect the children. Not Shein.” Another protester yelled at the shoppers waiting on line: “If you spend even one euro, you’re scum.” Journalists interviewed customers about why they wanted to shop from Shein, and many cited the low prices. “Nobody here in the queue condones pedophiles, okay?” said one.
Meanwhile, about a dozen French labels have removed their products from BHV in response to its partnership with Shein, including the beloved French womenswear label Agnès B. “I am totally against this fast fashion, which is worse than anything,” said founder Agnès Troublé in an interview with FranceInfo last week, adding that after her brand’s contract with BHV ends in January, it will no longer be sold there.
French skin-care brand Skin & Out was so eager to leave BHV that co-founder Amélie Desazars Laparra went to the store and bought back her brand’s products herself, according to a video posted by the brand explaining that it, too, had broken its contract with the department store following the Shein announcement. Other brands that have reportedly also left in protest include A.P.C., Odaje, and Figaret Paris.
BHV is planning to open Shein shops inside five Galeries Lafayette stores, which it operates through a licensing agreement throughout France — though soon, those department stores will have a new name. Galeries Lafayette said it canceled its partnership with BHV’s parent company, Le groupe Société des Grands Magasins, because of its association with Shein, and will remove its name from department stores in Angers, Dijon, Grenoble, Le Mans, Limoges, Orléans, and Reims that BHV currently operates.
