14 DAY TRIAL // Reports indicate that almost two dozen fake Apple stores have been shut down in China, as a result of authorities concluding that said establishments did not operate under Apple’s approval, yet advertised themselves using the the Apple logo.
Those who’ve been following Apple in the news lately will not be surprised to hear that rxactly 22 such fake Apple stores have been closed this week, according to reports from the country.
This makes a total of 24 fake stores closed as the result of a July blog entry by an American living in Kunming, China who spotted a number of establishments that looked strikingly similar to Apple’s own venues.
However, Jessica (BirdAbroad) is well versed in Apple culture and therefore was able to spot a few discrepancies that gave away the fake nature of the retail outlets.
Upon discovering this said truth, she decided to investigate further and shockingly found out that the staff working in some of these stores were actually convinced they were on Apple’s payroll.
As soon as Jessica had posted her story online, the technology media took care of the easy task of spreading the word across the entire planet.
From there, it was only a matter of time before authorities would do something about the situation.
Apple China themselves reportedly complained of unfair competition and violation of its registered trademarks and demanded that Chinese officials do something to alleviate the damage.
With most of the faux stores now shut, a greater problem looms still.
The unwary customers who bought their goods at these stores are now demanding refunds. It is unclear how these people will be compensated, or if they will be compensated at all.
Apple has seen tremendous growth in China in the past year. The last reported quarter alone saw the company’s revenues explode by a factor of six to reach $3.8 billion.
The Mac maker currently operates a mere four stores in the whole country, but reportedly plans to open 25 new outlets in the near future.