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BEIJING (AP) — Chinese officials found five fake Apple stores in a
southwestern city and ordered two of them to suspend business while
they’re investigated, a local government website said
Monday.
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Officials couldn’t do anything about the other three stores – which
prominently displayed Apple signs and logos – because they did not
find any fake Apple products for sale, according to a report by a
local newspaper posted on the Kunming city government’s
website.
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The investigation follows a blog post last week by an American
woman who lives in Kunming in Yunnan province, who stumbled across
three shops masquerading as bona fide Apple stores in the city. She
took photos and posted them on her BirdAbroad blog.
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She said they were modeled on the company’s iconic stores right
down to the winding staircase and the staff wearing the customary
blue T-shirts.
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After the blog appeared on Wednesday, the Kunming Trade and
Industry Bureau inspected more than 300 electronics stores in
Kunming and found the five fake Apple stores, the city government’s
website said.
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Calls to the Kunming Trade and Industry Bureau rang unanswered
Monday.
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The maker of the iPhone and other hit gadgets has four company
stores in China – two in Beijing and two in Shanghai – and various
official resellers.
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The proliferation of the fake stores underlines the slow progress
that China’s government is making in countering a culture of a
rampant piracy and widespread production of bogus goods that is a
major irritant in relations with trading partners.
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