Bored With Faking iPhones China Decides To Go Big: Fake Apple Stores

That can't possibly be a wide-angle lens. I'll just lean this-a-way!

Apple’s Q3 performance was so amazingly good that the company has just opened up a bunch of new retail stores in Kunming. No wait a minute. Something about that Apple Store doesn’t look quite right. *squints* Apple STOER?!

Hats off to the BirdAbroad blog for spotting what must surely be one of the boldest Chinese knock-offs in the history of Chinese knock-offs. Fake iPad? Fake iPhone? Pfft! Amateurs… Kunming just faked an entire Apple Store! And it was so nice that they did it thrice.

According to 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… 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.

That’s oh-so China. This is a great story with lots of great photos, so do drop over to the blog and give it a read in it’s entirety.

I got in touch with the author of the post, who passed along the address for the Kunming Store(s). If you’re in the neighborhood, follow the map below and swing on by 25 Zheng Yi Road. And be sure to bring your cameras!

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[Hat tip to @alexbowman]