PARIS – Protesters bearing “Shame on Shein” placards gathered outside a Paris department store on Nov 5, hours before the opening of the online fast-fashion retailer’s first ever permanent shop amid fierce criticism of its low-cost business model.

After queueing for hours, dozens of shoppers filed into the 19th century BHV department store in the city’s Marais shopping district at 1pm, as several riot police officers brought in to shield the store looked on.

Shein’s store, which occupies 1,000 sq m on the sixth floor of the BHV and has created 50 jobs, has caused uproar among politicians, including Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, as well as retailers who say that Shein’s business model has an unfair advantage and has eroded French high streets.

Shein on Nov 5 tried to show it can positively impact French retailers by offering shoppers an opening-day deal: Whatever shoppers spend at Shein, they get a voucher to spend at other shops within BHV, valid until Nov 9.

The first shoppers to enter the store browsed rails of Shein clothes, including jeans for €27.99 (S$42) and a black fake leather jacket for €42.49.

Shein, which sends cheap dresses and jeans from factories in China direct to consumers in 150 countries worldwide, was approached to set up a concession by Société des Grands Magasins (SGM), which is hoping the launch will attract a younger clientele to its struggling BHV department store and bring benefits thanks to its ecommerce expertise.

“Every day, we’re told that physical stores are dying. Every day, we’re being told that thousands of jobs are at stake, that the French textile industry is dying, and these same critics are not the ones offering us solutions,” SGM chairman Frederic Merlin told BFM TV. “I believe that without innovating, the future honestly doesn’t look bright.”

SGM will use the BHV name for its seven regional department stores, five of which will also host Shein shops, after ending a franchise agreement with Galeries Lafayette, which also publicly criticised the Shein partnership.