Apple is having a hard time keeping up with all the counterfeit Apple stores and products popping up in China.
A recent WikiLeaks cable reveals that since 2008, Apple has hired a special security team made up of agents from Pfizer – the group that fought against Viagra counterfeits – to lead a crack down operation on fake Apple spawns.
The leader of Apple’s global security unit is a former F.B.I. special agent (John Theriault).
Yet it seems that F.B.I. and Anti-Fake-Viagra experience put together may still not be a strong enough match for scheming Chinese business minds.
A U.S. embassy memo titled “Apple Takes A Bite Out Of Chinese Fakes” reports that “factories in Guangdong province are exporting enough counterfeits to single-handedly supply the world with fake Apple products.”
Large volumes of fake Apple products are making their way from China into India and Mauritius. Within China itself, counterfeit Apple products are so sophisticated that they appear virtually identical to the real thing, other than the fact that some products have much less memory that the originals.
As for fake stores? Well, Apple officially owns only four stores in China: three in Beijing and one in Shanghai, which, by the way, are Apple’s most trafficked and most profitable stores in the world.
So if you happen to see or visit a Chinese Apple store other than the above four…well then, you know.
Photo credit: Ivan Walsh
Young professional married with no kids. Best asset is her attitude, best resources are the people she loves. Spends her leisure time building the AX3 dream.
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