News reports quoted from the China Daily indicates that the Chinese government is coming down heavily on all those retailers who are in the fake logo racket and have been using logos from Apple or other branded company names to sell their own local products. The action is being initiated by the quality and technical supervision bureau of the government’s administrative arm. Slogans like “Apple authorized reseller” or “Apple direct retailer” is being forbidden for use by retailers who are in reality not authorized by such company and those who have already done so are being asked to remove these line as also cover up the company logo if they are being displayed at their shops. The action is going to be executed for the whole of this month.
The number of such fake retailers have increased in such numbers that sales of the authorized retailers are being affected. Those illegal retailers get smuggled Apple products and sell them off as the real ones have been reported by Gao Zhu also who are the authorized seller of Hoosing. They have also stated that such illegal retailers are displaying Apple Logo which is much larger in size than the original ones.
A similar crackdown as that in Beijing is being affected in Kunming as well by the government inspection agencies. Kunming had recently been at the center of world attention when fake Apple stores representing just like the original were spotted doing business. The overall effect though has not been so encouraging as reports from the Daily portrays. Illegal retail shops at Zhongguancun have just partially covered up the logo that they were displaying. Workers in the shops continue to sport t-shirts with the Apple logo on them. Manager of a shop has even stated that at the end of the month things would be back to normal. Apple China has also not come out much in this aspect.
However, the copycat menace might be too deep rooted and what the authorities have touched upon so far might well be just the tip of the ice berg. The copycats have operated in China since long while its also not a secret, they operate on a grand scale too. Also, its not only in the field of tablet PCs or Apple products, but almost for all things legal in the country, there also exist a duplicate product line that looks and feel exactly like the original but cost just a fraction. Its is the latter that has made the the copycat business a lucrative one and ensure there is enough demand always. So it will be interesting to see what comes out in the end.
via ipodnn
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
