Shein clothes in the BHV department store in Paris, seen on November 4, 2025. Aurelien Morissard/AP Paris —

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) gr

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