Shein's move into the flagship BHV in Paris has added political heat to the troubles of department stores, which are facing an existential threat from shoppers' shift to online retailers offering ultra-fast fashion.
The Chinese budget retailer opened its first bricks-and-mortar shop in the BHV department store on the Rue de Rivoli in central Paris earlier this month, triggering an outcry from lawmakers and other retailers, who say Shein's low-cost business model has hurt French shopping streets.
For BHV, renowned for its wide range of goods, the move was an attempt to attract younger shoppers, who have become big fans of online platforms like Shein for everything from cosmetics to fashion.
The growth of online has added to the troubles of department stores around the world, many of which are still trying to recover from a big drop in footfall during the pandemic.
"Before, our competitors were other large local department stores. Then came competition from websites," said Laetitia Henry, general manager of the flagship Printemps Haussmann store in Paris.
"More recently, we have been facing a new international threat in the form of ultra-fast fashion, which can copy a designer dress in three weeks and sell it for less than 10% of the price."
In the US, Macy's is closing stores while Saks Global, parent of upscale department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue, is exploring divestitures to curb debt.
Société des Grands Magasins, which bought the BHV from the Galeries Lafayette group two years ago, is hoping its partnership with Shein is the kind of innovation that will protect it.
SGM said traffic at the BHV store jumped by 50% on the day of Shein's launch, and that a quarter of people who bought at Shein also went on to make other purchases at BHV.
Shein last month said top global fashion market France was a "natural choice" for it to test physical stores, and that its online sales enable it to accurately predict what local consumers want.
Shein did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Other big French department stores like Printemps, Galeries Lafayette and LVMH-owned Le Bon Marché have tried to reinvent themselves as lifestyle destinations, offering bespoke luxury experiences to pull in more shoppers.
Le Bon Marché schedules regular events, including concerts and dance, while Printemps offers fine dining, beauty treatments and has an in-store ice rink during the festive season.
"The idea is always to give customers a reason to come," said Henry.
Galeries Lafayette said that more than 100 million euros ($115.06 million) invested in renovations during the pandemic, including to refurbish the stained-glass cupola of its flagship Paris store, helped it to attract more visitors and take its foot traffic to higher levels than in 2019.
But mid-range stores, struggling to adapt and enter the crowded market for luxury experiences, will be watching the publicity Shein has generated for the BHV, said Selvane Mohandas du Ménil, managing director of the International Association of Department Stores.
He said everybody would be curious about the extent to which the extra traffic and spending would trickle down to other parts of the store.
Late payments to brands at BHV have led to shortages of products, hurting sales and leaving workers concerned for their jobs, a union representative said in November.
Overall foot traffic across French retail is still below pre-pandemic levels and increased by just 0.2% in the first nine months of this year, according to France's Alliance du Commerce.
"Every day we hear that physical retail is dying, every day we are told that thousands of jobs are at stake," SGM president Frederic Merlin told France's BFM TV the day Shein's store opened.
Merlin said he welcomed criticism, "but trying to move forward is better", arguing retailers should work with new models like Shein's.
SGM has delayed the opening of five more Shein shops in department stores around France to adjust its marketing strategy. When Shein's store opened some shoppers found its prices too steep.
Those stores were branded Galeries Lafayette under a franchise agreement, but will take the BHV name after Galeries Lafayette ended its agreement with SGM.
The Paris city hall said it would not allow the BHV to host outdoor Christmas events this year because of a "highly controversial context".
When Shein's Paris store opened, France suspended its French marketplace after finding child-like sex dolls for sale on the platform. The suspension proceedings were halted after Shein withdrew all illicit products.
The backlash against Shein also tipped the scales in a European debate over customs duties on low-value parcels, which are expected to come in by 2026 - hitting Chinese retailers like Shein and Temu - in line with a similar suspension of duty-free treatment in the US for small parcels.
"Is Shein really a traffic driver for department stores ... or are you just killing yourself ... That's a big question that everybody is looking at now," Mohandas du Menil said.
