Shein announces $1.7bn listing despite EU backlash

Shein has announced a $1.7 billion stock market listing aimed at international expansion while facing mounting regulatory pressure in Europe over ultrafast fashion, online safety, product standards and low-value imports.

The China-founded online fashion company had 156 million average monthly users in Europe by the end of last year, making it one of the continent's biggest e-commerce platforms alongside AliExpress and Amazon.

Shein opened its first physical outlet in a dedicated space at the BHV department store in Paris in November. Hundreds of customers lined up on opening day, while protesters criticised what they called poor working conditions at suppliers, environmental damage from short-lived clothing and unfair competition for traditional retailers.

Shein says it holds suppliers to strict compliance standards and does not tolerate forced labour.

A few days before the Paris opening, France's consumer protection agency said it had found childlike sex dolls for sale on Shein's platform. French officials accused the company of fostering child pornography and asked the European Commission to open an inquiry under the Digital Services Act.

The EU investigation opened in February 2026 and targeted the alleged sale of illicit goods, including child sexual abuse material, as well as what it described as Shein's addictive design.

In June, French authorities imposed two fines on Shein totalling more than 22 million euros, citing product traceability, environmental labelling and delivery-time issues. The next month, France secured an EU-wide halt to sales of items with crocodile logos deemed to counterfeit Lacoste. Shein has paid more than 210 million euros in French fines over the years, and Italy has also imposed fines over alleged misleading environmental claims.

Shein has called the penalties disproportionate and discriminatory. China's commerce ministry says they violate World Trade Organization rules.

The EU has also imposed duties on billions of small retail parcels entering the bloc, most of them from Chinese e-commerce sites. Since July, a three-euro duty has applied to each type of item in packages valued at less than 150 euros. Brussels says the measure helps customs authorities deal with the rapid growth of e-commerce parcels that may not comply with EU standards.

Bernd Lange, head of the European Parliament's trade committee, said the number of small parcels from abroad has more than quadrupled to 5.88 billion since 2022. The EU is due to impose a still-undetermined handling fee on such parcels from November.