On the 3rd (local time), France's consumer protection agency imposed a penalty surcharge of €40 million (about 64 billion won) on the Chinese online retailer SHEIN for allegedly deceiving consumers.
The French Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) stated that its investigation conducted from October 2022 to August 2023 revealed that SHEIN had deceived consumers through discounted sales, and has imposed this sanction on Infinite Style Service (ISEL), the operator of SHEIN's European website.
According to the authorities, it has been confirmed that SHEIN falsely portrayed providing discounts that were exaggerated compared to actual prices. Under French law, the benchmark for discounted prices must be the lowest price over the 30 days prior to the start of the discount event. However, the authorities judged that SHEIN violated this regulation by ignoring previous prices or increasing prices prior to the discount.
The investigation results showed that 57% of the products advertised as discounted by SHEIN were not actually discounted. Nineteen percent of the products had an actual discount that was lower than advertised, and 11% had actually increased in price.
The authorities also pointed out that SHEIN promoted itself on its website as a responsible, eco-friendly corporation that 'reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 25%,' but failed to provide clear grounds or evidence for such claims.
Meanwhile, the operating company ISEL stated that it would accept this penalty.