Even in a country world-renowned for its knockoffs, the above video is unreal. Literally. Stories of a fake Apple stores in China spread across the Web last week after an American blogger in China wrote about the phenomenon. Now NBC's Today Show has produced video evidence, going on a tour of a knockoff shop in Funming, which is just one of a reported five.
The products in the fake Apple Store are real, but the store itself is completely fake and unauthorized. What's most notable in all of this is just how far the shops go to make themselves look like the real thing. Save for a few font discrepancies that probably only nerdbloggers like us would notice, everything in the store is utterly convincing: the wooden display tables, the accessory racks, the blue shirts employees wear complete with the Apple logo and signature name placards... We're guessing the majority of people going into these stores aren't even aware that they're being duped.
Since the story went public, China has cracked down on the clone stores and two of them have been forced to close. Apple, busy building its own stores, hasn't commented on the matter.
[CNET]
