Just when you thought that China was out of new ideas in the the “faking” department, something more elaborate and larger than any fake iPhone has caught the attention of many.

Meet the fake Apple store:

The Apple iPhone and iPad have become a major hit in the Chinese market. Many businessmen were quick to capitalize on such trend. One decided Instead of just selling fake Apple products, to fake the entire Apple store.

The stores are located in Kunming and from a distance, look just like one of Apple’s iconic full-service retail stores. Featuring a glass exterior, pale wood display tables, a winding staircase and giant posters displaying Apple products, and a neatly organized accessories wall. Even the employees wear the blue shirts and Apple-emblazoned name tags similar to those worn by Apple Store employees in China.

Since the story broke out, 2 of the 5 fake stores in Kunming have closed. Some netizens have reported that the stores were selling genuine apple products. However, the stores cannot be found on Apple’s list of authorized retailers.

China has only four authorized Apple stores in Beijing and Shanghai, although the electronics firm has labeled China a “key market”. In contrast, it has 236 stores in the United States.

Given the insanely strong demand for the iPhone and iPad in China and the extremely large population in China, it would be wise to increase production and the number of stores. Far worse than these fake Apple stores in China are the scalpers that make Apple products constantly unavailable and Apple’s inability to properly deal with the matter.

Source: WSJ and chinadaily