ONE (actually 3) BAD APPLES in the BUNCH

What can be worse than piracy of a product or movie? Well, how about a whole retail store (or for that matter, a cinema) full of counterfeit products (or films).  Reaching a new height in spivery, at least 3 Apple stores were opened in the business sector of Kunming City, China (a well known bastion for a cornucopia of copycat luxury products and pirated media, from Gucci bags to BluRays) which are entirely fake and filled with fake Apple products - Macs, iPods, iPhones, iPads, etc.

So convincing was the scam that the store employees (all clad in signature blue T's and wearing Apple logo'd name tags around their necks) believed they worked for Apple !

Photo of bogus Apple store, Kunming, China

The giveaway came when a would-be customer noticed unpainted walls, and a store sign that read "Apple Store" vs. the iconic fruit logo used in real store signage.  Another no-no was that several store displays used a whole apple and not the bitten Apple logo.

Apple currently has four "real" stores in China, two in Beijing and two in Shanghai plus a number of official resellers. Plans are to open two more stores this year, another in Shanghai and one in Hong Kong.  When queried, Tim Cook, Apple's COO stated, "we have no official comment on the fake stores", and added, "China is very key to (Apple) sales plans and presents an incredible opportunity".

A fake store (although amusing for its utter brashness) is a very serious brand issue. If customers believe they are purchasing a real Apple product at a bonafide establishment and it does not function properly or does not match product specs this seriously tarnishes the Apple brand.

Piracy and product counterfeiting is bad for China. In the long-run it dampens China's efforts to attract new technologies as companies are reluctant to bring advanced products and designs for fear of piracy or patent infringement.  The Chinese government is becoming acutely aware of this and I think there will be widespread crackdowns on piracy and product copycatting in the future.

Remember: Don't buy any whole apples unless you're going to eat them.

Best and Happy Movie Going !
Jim Lavorato