Childlike sex dolls on Shein: the head of BHV is outraged but maintains the collaboration

"Indecent," "unacceptable," but not enough to jeopardize a promising collaboration. Two days after the publication of the fraud investigation revealing that the Shein platform was selling child-shaped sex dolls, Frédéric Merlin, the head of BHV, which is set to host a corner for the Chinese online retail giant this Wednesday , expressed his outrage on Instagram this Monday.

In an Instagram story, the CEO of the department store company denounced the situation: “The SHEIN platform offered for sale sex dolls [and child pornography dolls; the sale of sex dolls is not inherently illegal, editor's note] . It's indecent, it's unacceptable. This case demonstrates the excesses of a system where no platform is truly regulated. When anything can be sold without oversight, dignity disappears. Commerce must have rules. And values.”

Frédéric Merlin's anger, however, seems confined to a social media post. In a second Instagram story, he reaffirmed and defended the partnership between the well-known store near City Hall and the Asian brand. This brand, a symbol of ultra-fast fashion and discount goods in general, is scheduled to open its corner this Wednesday, November 6th, at 1 p.m.

"The very principle of our partnership is clear "Only clothing and items designed and produced directly by SHEIN for BHV will be sold in store," he dismissed, while this decision continues to provoke anger among other brands welcomed at BHV, a multi-story store characterized by the presence of dozens of references of clothing, haberdashery, DIY, bookstore or grocery. So much so that Disneyland Paris decided to withdraw from its Christmas partnership. "No products from SHEIN's international marketplace are affected," Frédéric Merlin continued . "All items offered at BHV meet strict requirements regarding quality, traceability, origin, and compliance with French and European standards."

The presence of these dolls for sale had prompted the platform to report them to the authorities, the fraud squad indicated on Saturday ( Le Parisien). (It was also revealed that Aliexpress, Temu and Wish had also been reported to the authorities for the same offenses). On Monday, Economy Minister Roland Lescure threatened Shein with a ban from the French market.

The e-commerce giant will also have to appear before the National Assembly. On the same day, LR (Les Républicains) MP Antoine Vermorel-Marques, rapporteur for an inquiry into controls on products imported into France, announced that they would be summoned "within fifteen days." The hearing, he wrote in a press release, "should provide precise answers regarding the transparency of SHEIN's supply chains, its internal control procedures, and the corrective measures implemented following this particularly serious incident."