Three Apple stores called beautiful fakes

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KUNMING, China, July 21 (UPI) -- Three stores in Kunming, China, had a dead giveaway that the locations were fake Apple stores, an American blogger said in an online posting.

The stores had taken several steps to replicate Apple stores, including lanyards for staff, who wore blue T-shirts, and a winding staircase, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Thursday.

But the stores, described online as a "beautiful ripoff," also had the words "Apple Store" on signs on the front of the shops, which is not Apple's style, a blogger named BirdAbroad wrote.

"Apple never writes 'Apple Store' on its signs. It just puts up the glowing iconic fruit," BirdAbroad wrote.

There are two official Apple stores in China, one in Beijing and another in Shanghai. The stores in Kunming are not on Apple's official list of resellers, the BBC said.

Apple, however, said it would not comment on fake stores, which BirdAbroad said were poorly constructed, despite the other efforts to imitate an official Apple outlet.

China in recent years has been publicizing its efforts to crack down on commercial piracy, which has long been a complaint of foreign companies.