Shein has been fined 40 million euros ($47.17 million) by France’s antitrust authority for violating consumer protection rules related to misleading discounts.
The penalty was accepted by Infinite Style E-Commerce Co Ltd, the company responsible for Shein’s sales in France.
The agency said Shein failed to follow French pricing rules by not using the lowest price from the previous 30 days as the reference for its discounts. In some cases, the company raised prices before applying a discount, which led to false promotions.
An investigation reviewed thousands of Shein products sold on its French website between October 1, 2022, and August 31, 2023. The probe found that 57 percent of the deals did not offer lower prices, 19 percent showed smaller discounts than claimed, and 11 percent were actual price increases.
In a statement, Shein said it was informed of the breaches in March last year and took corrective action within two months. The company said the issues were resolved more than a year ago and it remains committed to meeting French legal requirements.
