Fake Chinese Apple stores closed by officials

Fake Chinese Apple stores closed by officialsh1 class=’articleheadline’>Fake Chinese Apple stores closed by officials

Clare Hopping

Chinese officials have closed down two of the five fake Apple stores in Kunming, China

Published on Jul 25, 2011

Two of the fake Apple stores in Kunming, China have been closed by officials.

The operation was part of a wider initiative to clamp down on illegal businesses in China. More than 300 technology stores were examined by the Chinese government and two out of five unofficial Apple stores were investigated. The other three did have operating permits, but were using Apple’s logo without permission.

The counterfeit stores were discovered last week by blogger BirdAbroad, with employees dressed identically to those in official stores and the decor matching the US-based company’s flagship stores.

In fact, the unauthorised shops were such good fakes, even the employees didn’t realised they were working in a pretend Apple store.

Bloomberg reports the resellers were operating without business licences, purchasing the products from authorised resellers and putting them on sale for the same amount listed on the Apple website.

Apple has declined to comment on what action it will be taking against those using company logos without permission.

Inspectors are examining more than 300 electronics vendors in China, checking out business licenses, permits authorising brand use and purchasing channels, according to Bloomberg (via Xinhua News Agency).

There are four official Apple stores in China, situated in Shanghai and Beijing.

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