PARIS, France: Fast-fashion giant Shein has been fined 40 million euros by France's antitrust authority over deceptive discount practices that regulators say misled shoppers about the actual value of its deals.

The fine follows a nearly year-long investigation into the company's pricing tactics. The French agency—responsible for both consumer protection and competition oversight—announced on July 3 that Infinite Style E-Commerce Co Ltd, which manages Shein's sales in France, had violated rules around discount transparency and accepted the penalty.

Under French law, the reference price used to advertise a discount must be the lowest price offered by the retailer over the previous 30 days. Regulators found that Shein often ignored this rule, sometimes even raising prices before applying a discount, thereby inflating the perceived deal.

The watchdog concluded that Shein's practices had "deceived consumers about the authenticity of discounts they could benefit from."

The retailer, founded in China and now operating globally, responded by saying it had been informed of the breaches in March 2023 and had taken steps to address them within two months.

"This means that all identified issues were addressed more than a year ago," Shein said in a statement, adding that ISEL remains committed to complying with French regulations.

In addition to the pricing violations, the antitrust agency also cited breaches of environmental regulation, though it did not detail those in the fine announcement.

Shein has faced growing scrutiny in Europe over its marketing tactics and environmental footprint, even as it gains popularity among young shoppers for its low-cost, trend-driven products.