Rakuten France closed its marketplace on 30 September 2026: without informed consumer engagement, a French e-commerce brand can disappear
Vingt-six ans après la création de PriceMinister, Rakuten France a fermé le 30 septembre 2026 et environ 180 salariés perdent leur emploi. Face à Temu, Shein et Amazon, aucun acteur de l’e-commerce français n’est à l’abri. Le consommateur décide de tout, et une stratégie de communication et d’influence peut l’aider à choisir en connaissance de cause.
By Sana Lirin Hales, Co-founder and Associate Director of La Nouvelle Agence
In summary, this article covers:
- Rakuten France, formerly PriceMinister, closed its marketplace on 30 September 2026. Around 180 employees and more than 2,500 professional sellers are affected.
- Over the past ten years, the platform has lost 33 per cent of its customers and 42 per cent of its traffic. Two takeover bids, including one from Pixmania, were rejected.
- Shein, Temu and AliExpress account for 29 per cent of online clothing purchases in France. In 2025, 826 million items arrived in small parcels, 97 per cent of which came from China.
- La Redoute, Cdiscount, Veepee and Showroomprivé are competing with these same platforms on price.
- Legislation against fast fashion and taxes on small parcels will not be enough without consumer information.
- La Nouvelle Agence proposes five communication recommendations and a common benchmark for recognising a website that employs staff, holds stock and pays its taxes in France or Europe.
What we have observed: the decline of Rakuten France in the face of Temu, Shein and Amazon
Six years ago, La Nouvelle Agence managed Rakuten France’s press relations. We had encountered committed teams, sellers loyal to the platform and faithful shoppers. Their disappearance affects us all – consumers, French brands and communications professionals.
From PriceMinister to Rakuten France
Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet and his partners founded PriceMinister in August 2000, in a former airship factory on Boulevard de la Villette in Paris. The site launched in January 2001 with an idea that was simple for the time: to allow private individuals to resell their books, CDs and DVDs, and eventually everything else. PriceMinister became the leading French e-commerce platform of the 2000s and had 10 million members by 2009.
In June 2010, the Japanese group Rakuten, Japan’s leading e-commerce company, acquired the firm and its 11 million members for around 200 million euros. Paris became its European base. Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet stepped down from management in 2014 and, at the end of 2018, the PriceMinister brand was phased out in favour of Rakuten. The name that the French had known for eighteen years then disappeared from screens – the first misstep.
Ten years of decline, then no buyer
Over ten years, Rakuten France lost 33 per cent of its customers and 42 per cent of its traffic, according to figures released by the company. The management announced the closure on 16 July 2026. It cited competition from Asian platforms, led by Temu and Shein, which had increased pressure on prices.
Yet the 2010 takeover had provided the resources of a major group. Whilst Rakuten managed its subsidiary from Tokyo, Amazon was building its warehouses in France, rolling out its Prime subscription service and introducing next-day delivery. A generalist marketplace without its own logistics found itself caught between Amazon, specialists such as Vinted, Back Market and Zalando, and the prices offered by Chinese platforms.
Two takeover bids were submitted, including one from Pixmania, backed notably by Xavier Niel. Rakuten deemed them insufficient in terms of employment, financing and the ability to continue operations. Pixmania has contested this rejection: the company claims that its proposal would have saved several dozen jobs. It suspects that its bid served merely to comply with the Florange Act, which requires a buyer to be sought before closing a site. The platform still had more than 2,500 active professional sellers.
Rock-bottom prices and new shopping habits
The French spent €196.4 billion online in 2025, up 7 per cent, according to Fevad. The market is growing, but an increasing share of this growth is going to foreign platforms. In 2025, 826 million items were imported into France in small parcels, 97 per cent of which came from China.
Fashion is the sector where French e-commerce is declining the fastest. According to the Fevad observatory and the Institut Français de la Mode, Shein, Temu and AliExpress account for 29 per cent of online clothing purchases and 8 per cent of all clothing purchases in France, including in-store purchases. Shein is now the country’s second-largest clothing retailer by volume, behind Kiabi, and Temu entered the top 10 in 2026.
These platforms have instilled new habits in shoppers: thousands of new items every day, games and discounts within the app, and prices that no retailer subject to European standards can match. Amazon, for its part, has got customers used to receiving their orders the very next day, and is investing in France, unlike the Chinese platforms. On 5 May 2026, the American group announced €15 billion in investment over three years, 7,000 permanent contracts and four new warehouses, in addition to the 25,000 employees it already has in the country.
French players are feeling the impact
| Company | What happened in 2026 |
|---|---|
| La Redoute | 171 job cuts announced in May, including 138 in France |
| Cdiscount | Turnover down 0.6 per cent in the first half of the year; the marketplace accounts for 72 per cent of product sales volume |
| Veepee and Showroomprivé | Flash sales of brands facing price competition from the same platforms |
| Voyage Privé | Competition from American online booking giants |
The real cost of a T-shirt costing just a few euros
The documentary Sur le front: Vêtements, le tour du monde en 4 jours (On the Front Line: Clothes – Around the World in 4 Days), presented by Hugo Clément and broadcast on France 5 on 28 September 2026, follows the journey of these clothes from Shenzhen to Roissy. The team shows former passenger aircraft converted into cargo planes, with no seats or windows, used to transport clothes.
The figures quoted are staggering. In 2022, around 700,000 tonnes of clothing arrived in the European Union by air, equivalent to around twenty flights a day. A garment shipped by air has up to fourteen times the carbon footprint of the same item transported by sea. Shein and Temu together are said to ship nearly 9,000 tonnes of goods per day, according to a Reuters investigation reported by Novethic.
The documentary also shows parcels being diverted via Belgium to avoid the French tax of 2 euros per item category, which has been in force since 1 March 2026. The planes land in Liège, after which the parcels are transported to France by lorry. Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle is said to have lost around a third of its freight volume as a result.
The impact is also felt in the job market. Camaïeu closed in 2022 after having operated more than 900 shops. Jennyfer, Naf Naf, Kookaï and Pimkie have undergone administration and closures. On 9 September 2026, the Paris Commercial Court ordered the liquidation of the footwear retailer André, founded in Nancy in 1896. The chain had 500 shops in 1983; by then, it had just seven left and 30 employees.
Measures already taken by the public authorities
On 29 June 2026, Parliament gave final approval to the law against fast fashion. It provides for a penalty of up to 20 euros per item by 2030, capped at half the price, and a ban on advertising for the platforms in question, subject to approval from Brussels. Since 1 July 2026, the European Union has also been applying a €3 levy on small parcels. Fevad, through its chief executive Marc Lolivier, has condemned the unfair competition from Asian platforms and called for the creation of conditions to ensure the sector’s fair development.
3 key lessons
1. A brand can collapse without warning
Rakuten France has lost a third of its customers in ten years without stakeholders really realising it. The rebranding in 2018 also cost it some of the brand recognition that PriceMinister had built up over eighteen years. Neither a brand’s history nor the resources of a large group can protect it.
2. Price alone does not reflect the true cost of a purchase
A T-shirt bought for a few euros on a Chinese app ends up costing far more: jobs lost in shops and warehouses, and French designers and brands that can no longer find a place on the shelves. Every purchase made on a platform that pays neither staff nor rent in France takes a little bit of turnover away from retailers who do employ staff, whether online or in town centres.
3. Legislation alone won’t be enough without informed consumers
Fines per item, advertising bans, charges on small parcels: the authorities have started to take action. But legislation alone won’t be enough if shoppers don’t realise what they’re supporting. French and European high-street retailers and e-commerce businesses have strong arguments, which are still not being communicated widely enough. And if Amazon were, in turn, to lose ground to Temu and Shein, no established player in France would be safe.
The LNA Perspective
French consumers and retail brands have the power to change everything. As a communications and influence strategy agency, we are ready to work with e-commerce players to develop initiatives that will engage socially responsible consumers in this change.
These initiatives will help responsible e-commerce become among the most competitive on the international stage.
Here are some of our recommendations.
- Highlight and communicate the positive impacts of a purchase on a French platform or from a regulated operator: the number of jobs created in France, in warehouses; the tax paid; and the French sellers hosted on the marketplace.
- Highlight compliance. Safety standards for toys and electronics, chemical testing, statutory guarantees: what the buyer cannot see on a low-price product listing deserves to be explained.
- Communicate about logistics and transport. By ship, train or lorry, actual delivery times and carbon footprint per order.
- Promote French manufacturing. The ‘Origine France Garantie’ label and regional labels provide independent proof.
- Encourage responsible purchasing. Repairs, second-hand goods, more durable products: Back Market and Decathlon have turned these practices into a source of growth.
We also advocate for a common standard, championed by Fevad and the public authorities, which would allow shoppers to recognise at a glance a website that employs staff, holds stock and pays its taxes in France or Europe. Products made in France have their own label, whilst the French e-commerce sector still has none.
The French app Clear Fashion, nicknamed the ‘Yuka of fashion’, is a step in this direction. Since 2019, it has been rating clothing brands against 150 environmental and social criteria, helping consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.
The 180 employees of Rakuten France and the 2,500 sellers who were still trading there are now looking for other outlets. La Redoute, Cdiscount, Veepee, Showroomprivé, Voyage Privé and hundreds of small and medium-sized online retailers remain in operation, with teams and warehouses in France. Their future depends in part on the purchasing decisions of millions of French people, made in a matter of seconds on a mobile phone.
When did Rakuten France close?
Rakuten France closed its marketplace at midnight on 30 September 2026. Management had announced the closure on 16 July 2026.
Why did Rakuten France close?
Over the course of ten years, the platform lost 33 per cent of its customers and 42 per cent of its traffic. Management cites competition from Asian platforms, led by Temu and Shein, which has increased pressure on prices.
What is the link between PriceMinister and Rakuten?
PriceMinister, founded in August 2000 by Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet and his partners, was acquired in June 2010 by the Japanese group Rakuten for around 200 million euros. The PriceMinister brand was phased out at the end of 2018 in favour of Rakuten.
How many employees and sellers are affected?
Around 180 employees are losing their jobs. The platform still had more than 2,500 active professional sellers.
Were there any takeover bids?
Yes, two bids were submitted, including one from Pixmania, backed notably by Xavier Niel. Rakuten deemed them insufficient in terms of employment, financing and the ability to continue operations. Pixmania contested this rejection.
How significant are Shein and Temu in the French e-commerce sector?
According to the Fevad observatory and the Institut Français de la Mode, Shein, Temu and AliExpress account for 29 per cent of online clothing purchases and 8 per cent of all clothing purchases in France. Shein is the country’s second-largest clothing retailer by volume, behind Kiabi.
What does the law against ‘ultra-express’ fashion entail?
Definitively adopted on 29 June 2026, it provides for a penalty of up to 20 euros per item by 2030, capped at half the price. It also bans advertising for the platforms in question, subject to approval from Brussels.
How can consumers support French e-commerce?
By finding out what their purchase supports: jobs, warehouses and taxes in France, compliance with European standards, and transport methods. Tools such as the ‘Origine France Garantie’ label or the Clear Fashion app help them make informed purchasing decisions.
To find out more: contact LNA
Behind brands such as La Redoute, Cdiscount, Veepee, Showroomprivé and Voyage Privé lie jobs, warehouses and commitments that the public knows little about. Raising awareness of these amongst the media, content creators and decision-makers – in Paris as well as in Brussels – requires a long-term communication and advocacy strategy. This is what La Nouvelle Agence does every day for its clients.
Contact La Nouvelle Agence to discuss this further.
