Fake Apple Store in China
Jul 22, 2011 | 04:33 AM
#13
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 723
I think it's funny that they're getting so much publicity..quite amazing. How can they get away for all these copyright infringements? They're at least breaking 99.9% of copyright laws that I can see associated with Apple. I say Steve Jobs needs to have his priorities laid out- worry about jailbreak patch updates or companies like this copying literally EVERY thing of the company. Wow, come on Apple wake up and stop being ignorant.
Jul 22, 2011 | 11:14 AM
#15
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| Teamspeed Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 488
they found 2 more of these stores in China.
Are you listening, Steve Jobs? « BirdAbroad
Are you listening, Steve Jobs? « BirdAbroad
Being the curious types that we are, we struck up some conversation with these salespeople who, hand to God, all genuinely think they work for Apple. I tried to imagine the training that they went to when they were hired, in which they were pitched some big speech about how they were working for this innovative, global company – when really they’re just filling the pockets of some shyster living in a prefab mansion outside the city by standing around a fake store disinterestedly selling what may or may not be actual Apple products that fell off the back of a truck somewhere.
Clearly, they had also been told that above all, they must protect the brand. As I took these photos I was quickly accosted by two salespeople inside, and three plain clothes security guys outside, putting their hands in my face and telling me to stop taking photographs – that it wasn’t allowed. And why wasn’t it allowed? Because their boss told them so.
I…may or may not have told them that we were two American Apple employees visiting China and checking out the local stores. Either way, they got friendlier and allowed me to snap some pictures.
And the best part? A ten minute walk around the corner revealed not one, but TWO more rip-off Apple stores.
Clearly, they had also been told that above all, they must protect the brand. As I took these photos I was quickly accosted by two salespeople inside, and three plain clothes security guys outside, putting their hands in my face and telling me to stop taking photographs – that it wasn’t allowed. And why wasn’t it allowed? Because their boss told them so.
I…may or may not have told them that we were two American Apple employees visiting China and checking out the local stores. Either way, they got friendlier and allowed me to snap some pictures.
And the best part? A ten minute walk around the corner revealed not one, but TWO more rip-off Apple stores.
Aug 1, 2011 | 01:03 PM
#18
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 5,256
Aug 12, 2011 | 07:43 AM
#19
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 15,199
From: MidEast
22 more found...
BBC News - Chinese authorities find 22 fake Apple stores
BBC News - Chinese authorities find 22 fake Apple stores
A total of 22 fake Apple stores have been uncovered in one Chinese city.
Authorities in Kunming began searching out the copycats after pictures of one convincing replica were circulated on the web.
An early search found five fake stores, two of which were shut down for trading without a licence.
Now, according to Chinese trade officials, 22 have been found unlawfully using Apple's brand and logo.
The investigation into unauthorised Apple stores in Kunming was brought about when an American living in the city published a blog post describing a visit to one such shop.
Describing it as a "beautiful ripoff", BirdAbroad revealed how far the owners had gone to copy the decor and ambience of a real Apple store.
Staff also wore the same colour T-shirts as real Apple staffers, and sported lanyards of the same design.
The blog post was widely shared around the world and prompted Chinese trade officials in Kunming to take action.
The Administration for Industry and Commerce in Kunming said its investigation had unveiled a slew of stores violating Apple's registered trademarks.
Staff in the original fake shop believed they were working in a real Apple store
Authorities in Kunming began searching out the copycats after pictures of one convincing replica were circulated on the web.
An early search found five fake stores, two of which were shut down for trading without a licence.
Now, according to Chinese trade officials, 22 have been found unlawfully using Apple's brand and logo.
The investigation into unauthorised Apple stores in Kunming was brought about when an American living in the city published a blog post describing a visit to one such shop.
Describing it as a "beautiful ripoff", BirdAbroad revealed how far the owners had gone to copy the decor and ambience of a real Apple store.
Staff also wore the same colour T-shirts as real Apple staffers, and sported lanyards of the same design.
The blog post was widely shared around the world and prompted Chinese trade officials in Kunming to take action.
The Administration for Industry and Commerce in Kunming said its investigation had unveiled a slew of stores violating Apple's registered trademarks.
Staff in the original fake shop believed they were working in a real Apple store
Aug 12, 2011 | 08:20 AM
#20
Teamspeed Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 365
Just came across this...
China awash with counterfeit vintage wine
By Pascale Trouillaud | AFP - Wed, Aug 10, 2011
Long known for its fake designer handbags and watches, China is now battling a flood of counterfeit vintage wine amid a growing zest for bottles from famed wineries as a sign of social standing.
With average consumption just one litre per person per year, China may not have an age-old wine tradition, but it is catching up fast and is expected to become the world's sixth largest wine consumer by 2014.
"A good wine shows that a person has a high social status," explains Wang Li, who is taking wine tasting lessons in Beijing.
"A famous brand and a high price are two important elements for choosing wine here," he said. Colour is also a factor -- among China's wine-drinking classes, whites are looked down on as drinks only for women.
Wine from France is considered top notch. Last year, China and Hong Kong became the largest consumers of Bordeaux wines, while Chinese investors have bought several wineries in the area over the past three years.
Many rich Chinese are willing to dish out as much as 50,000 yuan ($7,800) for a bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1982, from the Bordeaux winery of the same name, which is hugely popular in China.
Counterfeiters have jumped onto this lucrative market and French wine has become one of the main victims of China's growing love for a tipple.
Fakes are "everywhere -- from bottom- to top-of-the-range," said Romain Vandevoorde, head of wine importer Le Baron.
"There is more Lafite 82 in China than was produced in France. So you really have to be wary if you find any of that in China," he told AFP.
Experts say it is difficult to estimate the impact of counterfeits on China's wine sector. The price range for fake wine varies from as little as 90 yuan to as much as 35,000 yuan for an exceptional vintage.
At wine fairs in China, some merchants have no qualms in openly exhibiting counterfeit wine bottles, some of which are very poor imitations.
Supermarkets and shops -- where the majority of Chinese people go to buy their wine due to a lack of specialist wine cellars -- are also full of fakes.
Counterfeits include bottles of Bordeaux wine that have been diluted with sugared water and had colouring agents and artificial flavourings added, before being sold for exorbitant prices.
Good vintage wines sold for unusually low prices with brand new labels are also a warning sign, as are bottles marked "Laffite" or "Lafitte" -- wrong spellings for the famous Bordeaux winery that may go unnoticed in China.
But "there are much more upmarket copies, much better made, generally by re-using 'grand cru' bottles," said Vandevoorde. Empty bottles have also sparked a roaring trade, and can be found online in China.
He said people filled these empty bottles with lower quality wine from Bordeaux that is more or less the same vintage as that advertised on the label.
"There are also troubling mixtures that mislead even the best wine tasters -- they're very good copies," he added.
Wine merchants are becoming more savvy and are learning how to distinguish fakes from the real deal, but the counterfeit market is still flourishing.
Wen An, who founded the Beijing-based wine tasting course Easescent in 2004 and claims to have trained 10,000 Chinese people, says that discerning consumers will help the fight against counterfeits.
China awash with counterfeit vintage wine
By Pascale Trouillaud | AFP - Wed, Aug 10, 2011
Long known for its fake designer handbags and watches, China is now battling a flood of counterfeit vintage wine amid a growing zest for bottles from famed wineries as a sign of social standing.
With average consumption just one litre per person per year, China may not have an age-old wine tradition, but it is catching up fast and is expected to become the world's sixth largest wine consumer by 2014.
"A good wine shows that a person has a high social status," explains Wang Li, who is taking wine tasting lessons in Beijing.
"A famous brand and a high price are two important elements for choosing wine here," he said. Colour is also a factor -- among China's wine-drinking classes, whites are looked down on as drinks only for women.
Wine from France is considered top notch. Last year, China and Hong Kong became the largest consumers of Bordeaux wines, while Chinese investors have bought several wineries in the area over the past three years.
Many rich Chinese are willing to dish out as much as 50,000 yuan ($7,800) for a bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1982, from the Bordeaux winery of the same name, which is hugely popular in China.
Counterfeiters have jumped onto this lucrative market and French wine has become one of the main victims of China's growing love for a tipple.
Fakes are "everywhere -- from bottom- to top-of-the-range," said Romain Vandevoorde, head of wine importer Le Baron.
"There is more Lafite 82 in China than was produced in France. So you really have to be wary if you find any of that in China," he told AFP.
Experts say it is difficult to estimate the impact of counterfeits on China's wine sector. The price range for fake wine varies from as little as 90 yuan to as much as 35,000 yuan for an exceptional vintage.
At wine fairs in China, some merchants have no qualms in openly exhibiting counterfeit wine bottles, some of which are very poor imitations.
Supermarkets and shops -- where the majority of Chinese people go to buy their wine due to a lack of specialist wine cellars -- are also full of fakes.
Counterfeits include bottles of Bordeaux wine that have been diluted with sugared water and had colouring agents and artificial flavourings added, before being sold for exorbitant prices.
Good vintage wines sold for unusually low prices with brand new labels are also a warning sign, as are bottles marked "Laffite" or "Lafitte" -- wrong spellings for the famous Bordeaux winery that may go unnoticed in China.
But "there are much more upmarket copies, much better made, generally by re-using 'grand cru' bottles," said Vandevoorde. Empty bottles have also sparked a roaring trade, and can be found online in China.
He said people filled these empty bottles with lower quality wine from Bordeaux that is more or less the same vintage as that advertised on the label.
"There are also troubling mixtures that mislead even the best wine tasters -- they're very good copies," he added.
Wine merchants are becoming more savvy and are learning how to distinguish fakes from the real deal, but the counterfeit market is still flourishing.
Wen An, who founded the Beijing-based wine tasting course Easescent in 2004 and claims to have trained 10,000 Chinese people, says that discerning consumers will help the fight against counterfeits.
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