China Begins Inspecting All Kunming Electronics Stores

After three unauthorized "clone" Apple Stores (or Stoer, as one spelled its name) were uncovered by an expat American blogger, authorities in Kunming, China have begun to inspect all of the electronics shops in the city, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

A worker with the city's industrial and commercial department said that inspectors will examine each store's business licenses, authorized permits for brand use, and purchase channels. Results will be publicly announced "soon," the worker said.

The fake Apple Stores copied aspects of real Apple retail stores, right down to interior decor, clothing issued to employees, and the iconic name tags. Since the revelations were made, angry customers have returned to the counterfeit stores, and business has been affected.

Although the stores are unauthorized, and definitely not real Apple stores, employees have said that the products sold in the stores are not counterfeit, but real Apple products.

Apple operates four official retail stores in China, none in Kunming. The company does have 13 authorized resellers in Kunming. The only Chinese Apple retail stores are in Beijing and Shanghai (two in each), but it has already announced plans to open a total of 25 in the next few years.

You can watch a video of the original blogger's trip to the Apple "Stoer" below.

Tags:  Apple, iPhone, China, ipad