From Shein to Labubu, French shoppers are buying Chinese for Christmas

The first physical store of Chinese-owned fast-fashion giant Shein – which opened in central Paris in November amid heated protests – has become a new retail destination for many denizens of the French capital as they rush to finish their Christmas shopping.

Hundreds of customers wandered among the racks of clothing, rifling through items carrying tags with rock-bottom prices, including a €66.99 (US$79) leather jacket and a €78.99 puffer coat.

Those wishing to use the fitting rooms at the Shein shop – which takes up almost half the top floor of Paris’ renowned BHV department store – had a long wait. Near the snaking queue, one saleswoman addressed a customer’s complaints of insufficient supplies.

“See the construction over there? We are planning to expand the store,” she said. “It will be bigger, and we will have a lot more things in stock.”

Seemingly unaffected by the complaints which greeted its opening, levied by the French fashion industry as well as some politicians and civil groups, the Shein store in Paris appears well entrenched for the Christmas season.

Meanwhile, Labubu, the wildly popular doll from Chinese toy company Pop Mart, remains a top entry on holiday shopping lists. Retail guides from major French newspapers, including Le Parisien and Ouest-France, have included instructions for how readers can find the fluffy, elusive figurines.

After a series of videos on the short video platform TikTok – owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance – many are using the dolls as decorations for their Christmas tree.

South China Morning Post