The Shein pop-up in Nice has been canceled

«Shein is not welcome in Nice, at Gare du Sud or anywhere else»: this is what the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, declared regarding the opening of a pop-up store by the Chinese brand. The fast fashion giant had planned to set up from April 11th to 14th in Gare du Sud, a former downtown train station renovated into a public media library, owned by the Iera group. As soon as the mayor learned about the arrival of the famous fast fashion brand in the city, he contacted the manager of the Iera group, Renato Iera, who immediately agreed to cancel the event. The mayor promptly issued a statement emphasizing that «The city of Nice is not meant to host a company that does not respect its humanistic values and represents a threat to local businesses for which I have always fought.» Estrosi's stance aligns with the National Assembly's desire to curb the excesses of fast fashion. Recall that on March 14th, all deputies unanimously approved initiatives to slow down the rapid production of low-quality clothing sold at low prices.

These include a ban on advertising for the sale of discounted clothing flooding the market, as well as strengthened environmental sanctions to make them less appealing. In less than ten years, Shein has demonstrated rapid prosperity, becoming THE fast fashion brand, surpassing giants like Zara or H&M. In 2022, the brand was valued at 100 billion dollars. Shein revolutionized fast fashion by using artificial intelligence technology to identify trends and an exclusively online model to produce thousands of clothing items in record time. Indeed, the brand offers clothing at slashed prices: many pieces are under €10. In a context of inflation, many Gen Z youths, eager to be trendy, are tempted by the allure of the Chinese brand. Canceling a pop-up store is a small victory in the fight against fast fashion. However, if the goal is to eradicate titans like Shein, then governments will be forced to be more radical in their measures.