Authorities in China’s southwestern city of Kunming have identified another 22 unauthorized Apple retailers weeks after a fake of the company’s store in the city sparked an international storm.China’s Administration for Industry and Commerce in the Yunnan provincial capital said the stores have been ordered to stop using Apple’s logo after Apple China accused them of unfair competition and violating its registered trademark, state media said on Thursday.
In July an American traveling in China exposed stores in Kunming as fakes despite their realistic looks, straight down to the blue t-shirts worn by the employees. Apple only operates four stores in the country – two in Beijing and two in Shanghai. Those stores were ordered closed. Apple responded by suing operators of fake stores, as well.
Kunming is the capital of China’s Yunnan province. It’s home to more than 6.8 million people – almost twice the population of Los Angeles, Calif. – and serves as an important commercial hub for people traveling throughout southern China and into neighboring Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam, Burma and Laos.