Chinese officials have demanded the closure of two imitation Apple stores in Kunming, reports Reuters.
After an American blogger in Kunming posted photos of “a beautiful [Apple store] ripoff” last week, Chinese officials began to investigate around 300 shops in the area, finding five fake Apple stores. Two of the stores, lacking the proper business permits, must now close their doors. Despite the intellectual property concerns, the other three remain open for now.
In China, companies aren’t allowed to copy the “look and feel” of other companies’ stores. These retail outlets are impeccable replicas of Apple stores, down to the winding staircases and employee t-shirts. In fact, the stores are so convincing most staffers believed they worked for an authorized Apple retailer. All five stores sold genuine Apple products, according to a Kunming city official.
Apple has just four official Apple stores in China, two in Beijing and two in Shanghai. They are some of the most popular Apple stores in the world, outselling even Manhattan’s 24-hour Apple mecca on Fifth Avenue. Apple plans to build a third Shanghai store with more than 16,000 square feet of space, plus dozens more around the country. The company generated a mammoth $3.8 billion in revenue in greater China during the third quarter, appealing to the country’s rapidly expanding upper-middle class.
Apple creates most of its products in China, outsourcing production of its gadgets to companies like the suicide-plagued Foxconn. Burdened with illegal overtime and meager pay, Foxconn employees aren’t allowed to talk, carry a mobile phone or even sit down. In May, several reports indicated that Foxconn staff members were required to sign a “no suicide” pact, though Foxconn itself denies the existence of such a document.
