Wednesday, 27 May 2026
A view of a Shein pop-up store at a mall in Singapore April 4, 2024. REUTERS
Shein fined €40 million in France for misleading discounts
PARIS — France’s antitrust authority announced on Thursday that it has imposed a €40 million ($47.17 million) fine on Shein, the Chinese-founded fast-fashion giant, citing deceptive business practices and misleading discounts uncovered during a nearly year-long investigation.
The agency, which oversees both consumer protection and competition, stated that Infinite Style E-Commerce Co Ltd—the company managing sales for Shein in France—had misrepresented the nature of its discounts. According to Reuters, Shein has accepted the fine.
French regulations require that any advertised discount be based on the lowest price offered by a retailer in the 30 days prior. The agency found that Shein violated this rule by not accurately reflecting previous prices and, in some cases, raising prices before applying so-called discounts.
Investigators concluded that Shein had “misled consumers regarding the authenticity of discounts available to them.”
The review examined thousands of products listed on Shein’s French website between October 1, 2022, and August 31, 2023. Findings revealed that 57% of promotions did not actually offer a lower price, 19% provided smaller discounts than advertised, and 11% were the result of outright price increases.
Shein responded in a statement, explaining that the antitrust authority notified Infinite Style E-Commerce Co Ltd (ISEL) of violations related to reference prices and environmental standards in March of last year. ISEL took corrective actions within two months.
Shein emphasized, “This means all identified issues were resolved over a year ago,” adding that ISEL remains committed to full compliance with French regulations.