The first permanent brick-and-mortar store of the Chinese low-cost fashion giant Shein, which opened amidst heavy backlash at a major shopping center in Paris in 2025, will close its doors in the coming months, the property owner announced today.
The arrival of Shein at the iconic BHV department store, located in the historic Marais district in the heart of the French capital, was surrounded by controversy from the very beginning, with critics viewing the fast-fashion retailer as highly detrimental to traditional small businesses.
The owners of BHV now consider the partnership to have been a “strategic mistake” that severely backfired. According to management, the presence of the controversial ultra-fast-fashion brand caused several other retailers to abandon the department store entirely, as they refused to be commercially associated with Shein’s brand image.
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This closure policy will also apply to other BHV locations in various cities across France where the Chinese multinational had established physical retail spaces. Following the exit, the department store group intends to refocus its corporate strategy entirely on its traditional core business segments of home decor and furniture.
This is not the first time the e-commerce giant has faced severe friction in the country. Shein had previously run into significant legal trouble in France after the French government filed a formal complaint attempting to suspend its online activities.
The drastic legal measure was triggered when local authorities detected that the platform was actively manufacturing and selling child-like sex dolls, sparking widespread national outrage and tightening regulatory scrutiny over the company’s European operations.
