Imitation is the sincerest kind of flattery, but that did not go down too well with the 3 KIRF Apple Stores in Kunming , China. In truth, after American expat BirdAbroad made her local stores famous last week, local officials have since been combing throughout the city’s 300-plus gadget shops on behalf of Apple China, and managed to dig up two more “Apple” stores. It is not exactly clear if these new offenders are on the same severity because the ones spotted by BirdAbroad, however the authorities have confirmed that not one of the five stores are Apple Authorised Resellers, not to mention having its permission to exploit its logo on their store front.
Additionally, two out of the five stores have since been shut down because of unlicensed retail operation. The fate of the remainder three remains to be unknown — the officials have only concluded that no KIRF products was present in the stores, though details reminiscent of the decor and staff uniform are certainly much like those of the genuine deal. Well, we’re glad they agree, but here’s only only the start — BirdAbroad has since gathered photos of more sketchy Apple stores the world over, so go take a gander. Oh, and for many who had been out of the loop, there is a hands-on video of 1 of the Kunming stores after the break.
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