According to Reuters, industrial and commercial authorities will inspect all electronics shops in the city, which is located in Yunnan province in southwest China. The investigation will look into business licenses, authorized permits on brand use, and the purchase channel of each store, a worker from the department told China's official Xinhua news agency.
The first reports of the counterfeit Apple Store emerged earlier in the week and quickly drew international attention. BirdAbroad, the blog which first broke the story, had said that employees of one store claimed to work for Apple. That store included staff wearing blue t-shirts and name tags bearing the Apple logo, as well as a lower-quality version of Apple's iconic winding staircase.
Calls to the store placed by reporters have since confirmed that at least some of the staff are willing to admit that the store is a fake. ""There is no Chinese law that says I can't decorate my shop the way I want to decorate it," one employee told Reuters.
After news of the store was picked up by local Chinese media, a number of upset customers returned to the store to complain. "With a store this big, it looks so believable who would have thought it was fake?" said a customer, who had come back to the store to demand a receipt for her purchase of a MacBook Pro and iPhone 3G.
"Where's my receipt, you promised me my receipt last month!" she shouted at the store's employees. Staff said that business had been affected by the report.
Credit: BirdAbroad
Some customers, however, were unfazed by the news that the store was not an authorized Apple reseller. "As long as their products are real it's okay — after all, you enter a store not to look at anything except their products," said 18-year-old Hu Junkai. "If the products you buy are real why do you care whether the store is a copy?"
Apple operates just four official retail stores in China, though it plans to open a total of 25 in the next few years. The company has focused its efforts on the region, growing its Greater China revenues, which include Hong Kong and Taiwan, to $3.8 billion in the June quarter, a whopping six-fold increase.
115 Comments
After reports emerged of "knockoff" Apple Stores in Kunming, China, government officials have launched an investigation into retail stores in the city, even as outraged customers have returned to the store demanding proof that their purchases are genuine. ...
Horrible music choice on the video. Weird Yiddish music for a video about a fake Chinese Apple store? But I guess that wasn't Apple Insider.
I like how they have Dyson fans on the second floor. Hilarious.
"There is no Chinese law that says I can't decorate my shop the way I want to decorate it," one employee told Reuters.
Implying that's the issue here.
How do you NOT get the receipt the instant you purchase your item? Even our Amish grocer gives receipts. They're printed from a cash register hooked to a car battery, for heaven's sake.
Come on, this guy's just playing with them. "Huge Junkie" is not a name. This is, of course, tongue in cheek as I realize it's quite a valid name. And probably pronounced 'who youn-kai'.
Implying that's the issue here.
That's exactly the issue. If they are selling genuine Apple products, can that reseller make their store look like an Apple store?
It all depends on what's allowed by Chinese law. In the U.S., a store couldn't use Apple's logo and other images like this without Apple's consent.You have to understand that China is the pirating capital of the world. They just don't have a moral/ethical problem with copying. It's not as high in their list of 'values' is it is in Western Civilization. A friend of mine went to Beijing on business and bought 'North Face' gear from pushcarts on the street. Wanna make any guess on whether the stuff was genuine or not?Thoughts to ponder:
Why are the ethics and morals in China different than here?
Does the West have a right to impose its values on other cultures?
Where did our (Western) sense of morality come from?
Horrible music choice on the video. Weird Yiddish music for a video about a fake Chinese Apple store? But I guess that wasn't Apple Insider.
I like how they have Dyson fans on the second floor. Hilarious.
The fans are probably fake too.
That's exactly the issue. If they are selling genuine Apple products, can that reseller make their store look like an Apple store?
Were
they? Selling genuine products, I mean.