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10mo ago

Shein’s BHV Debut Triggers Brand Exodus, Union Opposition, and Financing Questions

A public rebuke from France’s state lender puts SGM’s BHV plans under new scrutiny.

Le Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville (BHV) à Paris, le 5 octobre 2025
Inauguration de la manufacture textile Berlier, dans le XIIIe arrondissement de Paris, en mai 2023.
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« Entre les retards de paiement et les impayés, il y a au moins six millions de dettes vis-à-vis des marques qui sont au BHV », évalue Yann Rivoallan, le président de la Fédération française du prêt-à-porter féminin.

Overview

  • Shein is slated to install a 1,000 m2 corner at BHV in November and to open sales spaces in five SGM‑operated Galeries Lafayette stores in Dijon, Reims, Grenoble, Angers and Limoges.
  • After an intersyndicale CFDT‑FO‑CFE‑CGC rejected the project, the Galeries Lafayette group said it will prevent the planned regional openings.
  • Multiple suppliers have exited the BHV over the Shein deal and payment disputes, including AIME, Culture Vintage, Talm and Odaje, while Le Slip Français left after more than a year of unpaid invoices and Maison Lejaby also departed.
  • The French womenswear federation’s president estimates BHV owes at least €6 million to brands, as SGM attributes the delays to a new accounting system and says the store returned to profit in 2024.
  • Caisse des Dépôts said it does not endorse the Shein alliance, clouding SGM’s planned €300 million purchase of the BHV building, with unions also reporting empty shelves and thinning footfall.