Fake Apple Stores sell real Apple products in China
Fake Apple stores selling genuine Apple products are popping up around China like mushrooms after the rain.
According to a Reuters report, Apple only has one official store in Shenzhen and five authorized dealers in the area, but China’s southern boomtown has more than 30 stores selling these products.
"Many of the stores look just like Apple’s signature outlets, right down to the sales staff kitted out in blue T-shirts bearing the company’s white logo and the sample iPads and iWatches [Apple Watches] displayed on sleek wooden tables", it says in the report.
The company commented, suggesting anyone interested in buying an Apple product to do so online via their site, but this turn of events just goes to show how popular Apple is in the world’s most populated country.
"There are many Apple fans in China", said a clerk surnamed Zhao at one of the unauthorized dealers that opened just two weeks ago. "There are many silly people in China who are willing to pay extra money just to get a new iPhone ahead of everyone else".
Hilariously, the fake stores are also taking pre-orders for new devices.
What’s even more hilarious about the whole story is that there are actually shops there selling logos, display shelves and shopping bags needed to make an unauthorised outlet feel like a genuine Apple store. There’s actually a store where you go to buy an Apple store.
It is no wonder that Apple considers China a very important market and that it’s looking to expand the number of stores from the current 22 to at least 40.
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