France Fines Shein $47 Million for False Discounting and Deception

Yahoo

10-07-2025

In France, Shein's going from 'c'est la vie' to 'pay the fee.'
French regulators announced the culmination of nearly a year-long investigation Thursday, saying that Infinite Style E-commerce Ltd. (ISEL), which operates sales on behalf of Shein in the country, misled consumers on discounting and on its sustainability-related claims.
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France's General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) said it had doled out a €40 million ($47 million) fine to the company as a result of the now-concluded investigation, which ran from October 2022 to August 2023.
According to the announcement, French law requires that the reference price posted on an e-commerce player's site be the lowest price the company has charged for the item within the past 30 days. The agency said 57 percent of the listings it tracked 'did not offer any real price drop,' as translated from French. An additional 19 percent of products 'showed a smaller reduction than claimed' and 11 percent 'were actually price increases.'
The agency said that by 'artificially inflating' reference prices ahead of marking them down for sales, the company wrongly created the impression that consumers were receiving better deals than they actually had.
The announcement from the antitrust watchdog also stated that ISEL and Shein could not properly prove the environmental claims made on its site. It particularly took issue with the company planned to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent.
According to the agency, ISEL accepted the charge it had received.
Shein did not immediately return Sourcing Journal's request for comment, but a spokesperson reportedly told Reuters that the agency had shared information about the regulatory issues in March 2024, which led ISEL to fix such issues within months.
'This means that all identified issues were addressed more than a year ago,' Shein reportedly said.
According to Reuters, Shein also made it clear that ISEL intends to comply with all applicable French laws going forward.
This is far from Shein's first time in the spotlight for regulatory concerns. The company has had issues with other nations across the globe. Last year, Italy announced it would start a probe into the company for greenwashing. It has also come under fire for potential violations of the EU Digital Services Act, under which it is categorized a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP), and thus, must adhere to the strictest rules put forth by the regulation. South Korea's government last year said it had found toxic chemicals in a a Shein product.
False discounting issues have also become more frequent in U.S. courts; in recent years, companies like Under Armour, Fashion Nova, New York & Company, Old Navy and others have been accused of false pricing schemes by consumers.