Fake Apple Stores In China

[Big Man]

One of my colleagues just pointed me in the direction of this outrageous story:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk...nology-14236786

 

100% fake apple stores operating in China. Supposedly even the staff thought that it was real.

 

I guess China's so massive they can pretty much just get away with anything they like – copy the west's most successful corporate brands and paste them in them in the east.

 

I'd like to see Steve Jobs taking this one through the Chinese courts.

[Bebo]

all rook same

[vanderark14]

all rook same

 

:hysterical: :hysterical:

[Nespa]

all rook same

 

cheers ya plick...I was taking a drink of water reading that and its all over ma pc now!

[spamspamspam]

One of the wests largest sports brands

Nike

 

China's largest sports brand

Li-Ning

 

 

And the shops are almost identical inside

[Big Man]

One of the wests largest sports brands

Nike

 

China's largest sports brand

Li-Ning

 

 

And the shops are almost identical inside

 

Disgusting. No need for them to develop corporate brands of their own organically when they can just steal everyone elses - no one can tell them NO either.

 

Its scary, some poor chinaman could be walking around his hometown shopping in fake apple stores, fake nike stores, fake mcdonalds restaurants thinking he's the man, and nae even kenning the difference. Criminals could recreate an entire fake western world for the chinese market, and the countries so massive and closed we may not find out that its happening for years.

 

I think we're going to see alot more of this in the future.

 

Poor c@nts.

[DonCurlyHorny]

Disgusting. No need for them to develop corporate brands of their own organically when they can just steal everyone elses - no one can tell them NO either.

 

Its scary, some poor chinaman could be walking around his hometown shopping in fake apple stores, fake nike stores, fake mcdonalds restaurants thinking he's the man, and nae even kenning the difference. Criminals could recreate an entire fake western world for the chinese market, and the countries so massive and closed we may not find out that its happening for years.

 

I think we're going to see alot more of this in the future.

 

Poor c@nts.

 

Absolute pish!

 

I live in Shanghai and there are numerous shops selling Apple products in these 'fake' Apple shops. They are selling genuine Apple products so I have no problem with that. Obviously Apple shops have an 'image' and these local entrepreneurs are just making the most of that to sell the Apple product. John Lewis sells iPods but they are not an Apple shop. What's the difference? They still use the Apple logo and simplistic set up. Apple are still making the money, no? A lot of their products come via Hong Kong, a hotbed of cheap electronics and I can guarantee I can buy an iPhone at one of these places, with a full warranty, cheaper than the official Apple outlets.

 

There are however actual fake iPhones for

[spamspamspam]

Absolute pish!

 

As for the fake McDonalds, fake Nike stores etc. That's not true either. Sure they sell fakes, shitloads of it. The average Chinese person can't afford to buy Nike trainers and China do make fakes of pretty much every clothing brand you could name. The Chinese folk know that, the folk that are producing it know it will sell, so they keep churning it out. Nearly 1 in 10 Chinese folk people I walk past of a certain age are wearing Nike, Adidas, Lacoste, Aquascutum, Penguin etc. All the brands from the West that are seen as trendy by the Chinese. But I can assure you nearly every one that is wearing it knows it's a fake. There's not any (that i've heard of) stores set up to genuinely fool customers into buying goods that are counterfeit. I can walk into any mall and buy a pair of Nike trainers for

[DonCurlyHorny]

It does happen

 

Li-Ning is completely modeled on NIke, the shop looks like a Nike shop, the one in Beijing is identical to the Nike shop in Chicago. The shelves are set up the same, the staff are dressed the same, they have a logo that would be sued to kingdom come if they were based anywhere bar China. They are trying to rebrand slightly so they can sell outside China but its a shop and brand modeled on Nike down to the rubber on the soles of their shoes..

 

If it looks like something, is sold like something and is marketed the same way then it is fake or copy even if the name is a Chinese one and not Greek.

 

If I set up a store like that tomorrow I'd be in court by Tuesday...

 

You have a point, but the Chinese aspire to be like the West. You see it every day, 90% of t-shirts I see have english writing on them. The writing on on them makes absolutely no sense but they just kinda like english sh*t on their T-Shirts. 'Pretty Cheese Love" was my favourite today, but I have a favourite every day! The wife and I have pretty much turned it into a game!

 

OK they are following the Nike model, but the logo doesn't resemble Nike in any shape or form. So Adidas are going to sue K-Swiss for chucking a couple of extra stripes on their (admittedly sh*t) shoes and stacking their shelves like they do? You see a good business model and you are going to try and replicate it.

 

Look at the iPhone and iPad. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". Samsung, Ericsson, Motorola and all the others have been copying and trying to better Apple products since they came on the market. Apple seems to always stay one step ahead even though others try to emulate their success. People will always strive to be better than their competitors even if it means basically copying their product and adding their own slant to it.

 

Have you seen the Li-Ning trainers? sh*t. Any relatively affluent Chinese person that strives for a decent pair of trainers will not look in their shop. Not a chance. Marketing companies are spending multi millions here promoting western brands and know that the market here is massive. The nouveau riche Chinese clientele and their siblings are not interested in fakes or Chinese brand names. They want western brands and are willing to pay for it.

 

Mind you, the Adidas, Nike and other top brands here seem to do a complete wank range just for the Chinese market! I haven't seen any I'd shod my feet with!

[Big Man]

Absolute pish!

 

I live in Shanghai and there are numerous shops selling Apple products in these 'fake' Apple shops. They are selling genuine Apple products so I have no problem with that. Obviously Apple shops have an 'image' and these local entrepreneurs are just making the most of that to sell the Apple product. John Lewis sells iPods but they are not an Apple shop. What's the difference? They still use the Apple logo and simplistic set up. Apple are still making the money, no? A lot of their products come via Hong Kong, a hotbed of cheap electronics and I can guarantee I can buy an iPhone at one of these places, with a full warranty, cheaper than the official Apple outlets.

 

There are however actual fake iPhones for £20. It's like a Nokia from the 80's when you switch it on. Chinese folk are not stupid (well that's a story for a different time!) and they know when they go in these fake Apple stores that they are actually still buying a genuine Apple product.

 

As for the fake McDonalds, fake Nike stores etc. That's not true either. Sure they sell fakes, shitloads of it. The average Chinese person can't afford to buy Nike trainers and China do make fakes of pretty much every clothing brand you could name. The Chinese folk know that, the folk that are producing it know it will sell, so they keep churning it out. Nearly 1 in 10 Chinese folk people I walk past of a certain age are wearing Nike, Adidas, Lacoste, Aquascutum, Penguin etc. All the brands from the West that are seen as trendy by the Chinese. But I can assure you nearly every one that is wearing it knows it's a fake. There's not any (that i've heard of) stores set up to genuinely fool customers into buying goods that are counterfeit. I can walk into any mall and buy a pair of Nike trainers for £4. Look sh*t, but hey, they have the swoosh on them. But it's not as though there is stores set up to look like Nike selling counterfeit Nike goods at Nike RRP's. Doesn't happen.

 

But there is a big clampdown on fakes as the Chinese look to stamp it out as they are getting pressure from the big brands looking to esatablish themselves in China. There is a push to consolidate Intellectual Property Rights in China and the government are trying their best to stamp fakes out. Losing battle I think in the short term, but they are genuinely trying. 12,000 factories in the Shanghai area alone were shut down in the last few months and there has been public 'destoying of fake goods' outside known fake malls here.

 

And it's not as much a closed country as you think. Shanghai has to be the one of the most Capitalist cities in the world. 23 million citizens. 142,000 millionaires. That's right, 142,000!!!! Sure, they are still commies but sometimes only in name.

 

Mao is probably spinning in his grave.

 

BirdAbroad needs a slap and so do the BBC for reporting it on their website. Absolute non story.

 

I spent 3 weeks in Jiangsu province last year handling a merger my company was involved with, so iv'e have had the pleasure of visiting Shanghai (which is to the south of Jiangsu if i remember correctly). Whereabouts do you stay? Have you been to Jade On 36 on the Fucheng Road - probably the best restaurant i have ever eaten in? Anyway that's by the by...

 

John Lewis is an authorised apple retailer as are many other retail houses throughout the world. They buy their products directly from apple so apple can obtain a fair (aka exorbitant) price for them, and ensure that their products are only distributed through retailers which enhance their status as a luxury brand. This is a very different situation from someone setting up a mock apple store and selling apple goods – no?.

 

Knowing Shanghai like you do and from what i heard when i was there – things have a tendency to disappear out of factory windows, fall of container ships and generally just go missing. We can only speculate as to the origin of the products mentioned in the BBC article, but the chances are (whether real or not) apple probably did not receive what they would consider a fair price for them.

 

''Obviously Apple shops have an 'image' and these local entrepreneurs...''

 

Yes that's true, but we're not talking about ''local entrepreneurs'' selling ipads out of the back of their rice huts to try and earn a pound note. Three completely unauthorised apple stores, built to a high specification with all the look and feel of a real apple store (even staff with the right looking uniforms). This would require a fair amount of planning and organisation, and implies a criminal element. There was an obvious intention to deceive – nae?

 

 

The Chinese counterfeit industry is well documented, and im not for one minute trying to suggest that the average Chinese worker believes that the £4 Nike shoes they buy are real. They may however have difficulty distinguishing between real and fake consumer electronics goods of the kind made by apple. I would draw your attention here for examples of fake apple products that have been found on sale in china and elsewhere:

 

http://guides.macrum...d_Fake_Products

 

For example, say that the £4 fake shoe was on the other foot and someone opened up a fake Li-Ning store on Union Street – some people here probably wouldn't be in a position to Ken whether the products they were selling were fake or not. Just like a portion of the Chinese market may not ken about apple products. It doesn't mean that they are stupid.

 

So all in all, i wouldn't agree with you that the practice is harmless. And the contention that this is a non-story is also wrong.

 

Yeh Shanghai is fantastic, but its really been at the forefront of the economic boom over there. There's hundreds of billions of dollars floating around Shanghai, but you cant judge the entire country based on the one city. There is still a massive problem with poverty and corruption, and apart from the few key areas which have been vital for international trade – id say the majority of the country remains quite closed to international scrutiny and under the very watchful eye of the state – you never know what could be going on in these parts.

 

[DonCurlyHorny]

I spent 3 weeks in Jiangsu province last year handling a merger my company was involved with, so iv'e have had the pleasure of visiting Shanghai (which is to the south of Jiangsu if i remember correctly). Whereabouts do you stay? Have you been to Jade On 36 on the Fucheng Road - probably the best restaurant i have ever eaten in? Anyway that's by the by...

 

John Lewis is an authorised apple retailer as are many other retail houses throughout the world. They buy their products directly from apple so apple can obtain a fair (aka exorbitant) price for them, and ensure that their products are only distributed through retailers which enhance their status as a luxury brand. This is a very different situation from someone setting up a mock apple store and selling apple goods – no?.

 

Knowing Shanghai like you do and from what i heard when i was there – things have a tendency to disappear out of factory windows, fall of container ships and generally just go missing. We can only speculate as to the origin of the products mentioned in the BBC article, but the chances are (whether real or not) apple probably did not receive what they would consider a fair price for them.

 

''Obviously Apple shops have an 'image' and these local entrepreneurs...''

 

Yes that's true, but we're not talking about ''local entrepreneurs'' selling ipads out of the back of their rice huts to try and earn a pound note. Three completely unauthorised apple stores, built to a high specification with all the look and feel of a real apple store (even staff with the right looking uniforms). This would require a fair amount of planning and organisation, and implies a criminal element. There was an obvious intention to deceive – nae?

 

 

The Chinese counterfeit industry is well documented, and im not for one minute trying to suggest that the average Chinese worker believes that the £4 Nike shoes they buy are real. They may however have difficulty distinguishing between real and fake consumer electronics goods of the kind made by apple. I would draw your attention here for examples of fake apple products that have been found on sale in china and elsewhere:

 

http://guides.macrum...d_Fake_Products

 

For example, say that the £4 fake shoe was on the other foot and someone opened up a fake Li-Ning store on Union Street – some people here probably wouldn't be in a position to Ken whether the products they were selling were fake or not. Just like a portion of the Chinese market may not ken about apple products. It doesn't mean that they are stupid.

 

So all in all, i wouldn't agree with you that the practice is harmless. And the contention that this is a non-story is also wrong.

 

Yeh Shanghai is fantastic, but its really been at the forefront of the economic boom over there. There's hundreds of billions of dollars floating around Shanghai, but you cant judge the entire country based on the one city. There is still a massive problem with poverty and corruption, and apart from the few key areas which have been vital for international trade – id say the majority of the country remains quite closed to international scrutiny and under the very watchful eye of the state – you never know what could be going on in these parts.

 

 

I live in Zhudi Town in the Minhang area which has a large expat community built around a relatively poor area. Haven't heard of that restaurant but i'll give it a try! If it's murder I'm hunting you down!

 

I understand what you're saying about these fake Apple shops but in my limited interaction with the local Chinese people they know that these shops are not the genuine article. They are pretty much everywhere but as far as I gathered from them they were happy to buy from these stores as they got a far better price. We have two stores in our village for instance. Our village has 4 coffee shops, a few restaurants, one pub, a few 'trinket' shops and these two Apple stores (and a sh*t load of massage places where you can get a happy ending!). They wear the t-shirts with the Apple logo and look pretty much like an Apple store. They have set up solely to sell to the expat community. Everyone knows they are not licensed by Apple in any way but they sell heaps of them! And they are genuine as far as I can tell, never had anyone say otherwise. So I suppose I'm basing my argument on a very small demographic and not China as a whole but if you are getting a genuine product from a shop that looks like an Apple shop then I still don't see a big problem. As for the amount of planning to open one of these shops? Not a lot. One opened a week after the martial arts place had shut down. Kitted out like an Apple shop, T-Shirts the lot.

 

Your link shows the opposite of what I was led to believe, I've never seen a fake iPod here that would pass itself off as the genuine article. They all look sh*t and badly made and the operating system is just not Apple. You can make an iPod or iPhone as good as you want, cosmetically but it's what is under the hood that counts. But they obviously exist. How they interact with iTunes and stuff I do not know as you would've thought Apple would've had that pretty much locked down.

 

You're right though. sh*t does go missing off of boats and outside back doors of factories, same as any place. The country is corrupt and is closed to international scrutiny to a certain extent but they are trying to make it better. I'm not a China apologist by the way, I f**king hate it here!

 

Just thought the whole story 'Wow, fake Apple shops' was a bit sensationalist.

 

And your average Chinese chap can't afford an iPhone anyway so that leaves the rich buggers and the daftie expats to shop where they want to buy a phone that I wouldn't want anyway! And nae c**t would buy Li-Ning trainers in Aberdeen anyway! :D

[Big Man]

I live in Zhudi Town in the Minhang area which has a large expat community built around a relatively poor area. Haven't heard of that restaurant but i'll give it a try! If it's murder I'm hunting you down!

 

I understand what you're saying about these fake Apple shops but in my limited interaction with the local Chinese people they know that these shops are not the genuine article. They are pretty much everywhere but as far as I gathered from them they were happy to buy from these stores as they got a far better price. We have two stores in our village for instance. Our village has 4 coffee shops, a few restaurants, one pub, a few 'trinket' shops and these two Apple stores (and a sh*t load of massage places where you can get a happy ending!). They wear the t-shirts with the Apple logo and look pretty much like an Apple store. They have set up solely to sell to the expat community. Everyone knows they are not licensed by Apple in any way but they sell heaps of them! And they are genuine as far as I can tell, never had anyone say otherwise. So I suppose I'm basing my argument on a very small demographic and not China as a whole but if you are getting a genuine product from a shop that looks like an Apple shop then I still don't see a big problem. As for the amount of planning to open one of these shops? Not a lot. One opened a week after the martial arts place had shut down. Kitted out like an Apple shop, T-Shirts the lot.

 

Your link shows the opposite of what I was led to believe, I've never seen a fake iPod here that would pass itself off as the genuine article. They all look sh*t and badly made and the operating system is just not Apple. You can make an iPod or iPhone as good as you want, cosmetically but it's what is under the hood that counts. But they obviously exist. How they interact with iTunes and stuff I do not know as you would've thought Apple would've had that pretty much locked down.

 

You're right though. sh*t does go missing off of boats and outside back doors of factories, same as any place. The country is corrupt and is closed to international scrutiny to a certain extent but they are trying to make it better. I'm not a China apologist by the way, I f**king hate it here!

 

Just thought the whole story 'Wow, fake Apple shops' was a bit sensationalist.

 

And your average Chinese chap can't afford an iPhone anyway so that leaves the rich buggers and the daftie expats to shop where they want to buy a phone that I wouldn't want anyway! And nae c**t would buy Li-Ning trainers in Aberdeen anyway! :D

 

Haven't heard of that restaurant but i'll give it a try! If it's murder I'm hunting you down!

 

 

Don

[Big Man]

News Update:

 

Apple have found a further 22 fake apple shoppies operating in the 1 city now

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14503724

 

[Coopy100]

One of the wests largest sports brands

Nike

 

China's largest sports brand

Li-Ning

 

 

And the shops are almost identical inside

As a point of order on this. Nike started off as blue riband sports. They first Nike trainer was the Cortez which was a complete rip off of an onitsuka tiger trainer which happened to be what blue riband sports imported into the US. So basically what goes around comes around.

 

EDIT: Oh and sell your shares first thing.

[Dandyesque]

Oooh, the poor multi-national multi-billion dollar corporations.

 

Who ever will look out for their rights?

 

Personally, I think they've all got it coming - they have exploited cheap (and often child) labour for decades. Now they're getting a little taste of their own medicine.

 

f**k 'em.