China suspends 2 of 5 fake Apple stores in 1 city

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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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