22 fake Apple stores have been closed down in a city in China. Authorities started searching for replica store sin Kunming after a picture of a very convincing fake store was posted on the web. They went on to find five stores and shut down two. They now report that they have found 22 stores who were using the Apple brand and logo unlawfully.
It was an American living in Kunming who noticed a fake store. He published a blog post about how very convincing it was with a lot of things copied form a proper store and even the staff were convinced they were working for Apple.
Chinese authorities have told the store owners that they must no longer trade under the Apple name and they must also not copy the layout of the Apple store as copying the look and feel of another store is against Chinese law. It has not been disclosed as to whether the stores were selling genuine Apple products or whether they were fakes or grey market imports.
Kunming retail watchdog will now set up a hotline where the public can report unauthorised stores and will also monitor itself more thoroughly, checking for the existence of these fake stores..
