It was supposed to be a triumph: Shein’s emergence from the shadows of online retail into a permanent physical boutique in one of the world’s most recognisable department stores in Paris, the global capital of fashion.

Instead, the China-founded fast fashion giant is this week dealing with French street protests, a government-led effort to ban it from operating in the country and allegations that third-party sellers on its site have been touting machetes, knuckle dusters and sex dolls that looked like children.

For Shein, the outcry in France is just the latest in a series of controversies that have plagued its years-long, multi-jurisdiction campaign to become a public company. For publicity shy founder Xu Yangtian, they will serve as a reminder that high-profile campaigns carry their own set of risks.