Business · Paris
BHV Marais sold to management team as Shein partnership ends, new owners call it strategic error
Seven months after sparking outcry by hosting Shein's first permanent physical store, Paris's iconic BHV Marais department store is being sold by SGM to its management team, who will terminate the partnership and refocus on home goods.
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In brief
Société des grands magasins sells the business of BHV Marais and BHV Parly 2 to a group led by ex-CEO Karl-Stéphane Cottendin, at a loss.
New management ends the controversial partnership, calling the Shein experiment a strategic error after it triggered brand departures and unpaid bills.
The new owners aim to have Shein out of the Paris store by the end of the year, though provincial BHVs keep their Shein corners.
Dior, Sandro, Guerlain and others pulled out over the Shein tie-up and unpaid invoices; footfall dropped sharply.
Frédéric Merlin admits the operation derailed after the Banque des territoires withdrew from a financing round. SGM retains seven provincial stores.
- November 2025Shein opens its first permanent physical corner at BHV Marais.
- January 2026Brookfield acquires the 45,000 m² BHV Marais building.
- 16 JunSGM sells business to management team; new owners end Shein partnership.
A controversial experiment ends
In November 2025, BHV Marais opened the first permanent physical Shein corner, sparking uproar. The ultra-fast-fashion retailer, accused of destroying French commerce, triggered an exodus of high-end brands: Dior, Sandro, Guerlain and others left, citing unpaid invoices and displeasure with the store's new direction. Customer numbers plunged amid the controversy.
Leadership buyout and refocus
On Tuesday, SGM sold the business to a team led by Karl-Stéphane Cottendin, until today CEO of BHV and SGM, who now refocuses the store on home goods, decoration, and DIY. He is joined by marketing director Valérie Chaleyssin, artistic director Medy Ty, and HR director Élodie Nho. The new management immediately ended the Shein partnership. The sale covers the Marais flagship and the BHV Parly 2 store in Yvelines, while SGM keeps seven provincial BHV stores, five of which also host Shein.
“Shein at BHV Marais was a mistake, yes. This experimentation was a strategic error.”
Shein's looming departure
The new owners expect Shein to vacate the Paris store by Christmas 2026. The break-up does not extend to the five provincial BHV locations (formerly Galeries Lafayette stores) that still carry Shein corners and remain under SGM, which now concentrates on its real estate business. Frédéric Merlin, co-founder of SGM, described the sale as "a real takeover project by serious people," and admitted his own mistakes. He had fought to save BHV after buying it from Galeries Lafayette in 2023, but the plan fell apart after the Banque des territoires, a state-backed institution, withdrew from a financing round in autumn 2025, opposed to the Shein tie-up.
A historic institution in limbo
The 170-year-old BHV Marais, spanning 45,000 m² near the Hôtel de Ville, has been deserted by shoppers and plagued by unpaid supplier debts. The building itself was acquired in January 2026 by Canadian fund Brookfield, complicating SGM's earlier plan to buy the property. Cottendin said the sale would allow the new management to settle suppliers, though the debt amount could still be absorbed. Frédéric Merlin conceded that "the operation derailed" after the failed building purchase and the partnership controversy.
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Sources and context
- France 24À Paris, le BHV change d'exploitant et cesse son partenariat avec Shein
- 20minutesSept mois après son arrivée tant décriée, Shein quitte le BHV
- BFMTVShein au BHV c'est déjà fini: le grand magasin parisien cédé à un nouvel exploitant qui met fin au partenariat avec le géant chinois et évoque une "erreur stratégique"
- LesEchos.frLe BHV Marais tourne la page Frédéric Merlin et veut abandonner Shein
- Karl-Stéphane Cottendin
- Former CEO of BHV and SGM, leads buyout and ends Shein partnership.
- Frédéric Merlin
- Co-founder of Société des grands magasins (SGM), sells BHV Marais business at a loss.
- Valérie Chaleyssin
- Marketing director of BHV Marais, part of buyout team.
- Medy Ty
- Artistic director of BHV Marais, part of buyout team.
- Élodie Nho
- HR director of BHV Marais, part of buyout team.
- Places
- Paris
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