Fake Apple Stores Sprouting in China

Blogger uncovers ultimate Apple knock-off
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 21, 2011 3:00 AM CDT
Fake Apple Stores Sprouting in China
"This was a total Apple store ripoff," BirdAbroad writes. "A beautiful ripoff—a brilliant one—the best ripoff store we had ever seen."   (BirdAbroad)

Fake Apple products are common in China but some entrepreneurs have stepped it up a notch with entire fake Apple stores. Kunming-based blogger BirdAbroad stumbled across one such store, and found that its interior—and products—resembled the real thing so closely that she had to check online to make sure it wasn't a real store or at least an authorized reseller, CNET reports.

"It had the classic Apple store winding staircase and weird upstairs sitting area," she writes. "The employees were even wearing those blue t-shirts with the chunky Apple name tags around their necks." Some things, however, were a little off: "The stairs were poorly made. The walls hadn’t been painted properly." Staff members she spoke to all believed they were genuine Apple employees. A walk around the neighborhood uncovered two more fake Apple stores, one with a sign reading "Apple Stoer." (More Apple stories.)

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