After Paris, Here Are The Other French Cities Which Will Host A Store

A few days after the opening of its first physical and permanent store in Paris, Shein is preparing to invest in other cities in France. The announcement was made this Friday, November 7. From the November 18signs will be open to the public at Dijon and Reims. November 21stit is to Grenoble that the ultrafast-fashion company will set down its bags. All stores will be offered within galleries owned by the SGM (Société des Grands Magasins).

All structures, formerly called Galeries Lafayette, will henceforth display the BHV name. The Galeries Lafayette group has terminated its contract with SGM, not wishing to see its name associated with that of Shein. Please note that openings are planned at Angers and Limoges. No precise date has been communicated, but these openings should take place at the beginning of month of Decembera pivotal period for retail players.

A troubled launch

The opening of Shein’s first physical and permanent store did not go smoothly. Since the announcement of the company’s arrival at BHV, the fashion world has been up in arms. Firstly because Shein is the emblem of ultrafast fashion, of which ecological impact and the manufacturing conditions questionbut also and above all while the threat of suspension of the site looms.

On November 5, the Lecornu government announced launching a site suspension procedure after the discovery of childish sex dolls in the Shein catalog, via its marketplace. The DGCCRF had launched the alert to the Paris public prosecutor’s office. In its press release, the crackdown on fraud mentioned 80 centimeter dolls bearing the likeness of little girls and intended for “lonely men”. In the process, a deputy from the Loire, Antoine Vermorel-Marques announced that he had made another report to the Paris prosecutor for Category A weapons.

In its press release, the government announced that it would commit “the Shein suspension procedure, the time necessary for the platform to demonstrate to the public authorities that all of its content is finally in compliance with our laws and regulations”. The European Commission has also been contacted to initiate an investigation into the platform’s practices. For its part, Shein said it was ready to collaborate on “100% with justice”. The marketplace, a place that allows third-party sellers to offer their products, has been suspended until further notice.

A blockage which allowed the site narrowly escaping suspension. Roland Lescure, Minister of the Economy, nevertheless affirms that the “procedures continue, the arsenal continues to be deployed”. He added on Saturday on France Info: “We will be merciless. We will mobilize Europe. The Commission has taken note of our mobilization, but we want an investigation to be opened because, basically, the products incriminated last week were also on sale elsewhere in Europe.”

8,000 customers from the first day

But these controversies clearly did not taint the brand’s launch event at BHV in Paris since SGM announced that 8,000 customers visited the store on November 5, launch date. It remains to be seen whether the next openings will be as tumultuous. In Grenoble, the environmentalist mayor Eric Piolle asked the Société des Grandes Magasins to “suspend” the arrival of Shein while awaiting guarantees on the control of the legality of the products sold by the brand reports 20 Minutes.