CHINESE COUNTERFEITERS are very busy pumping out knock-offs of Apple’s best-selling iPhones and iPads, but one operator appears to have taken a bigger step – by opening a near flawless fake Apple Store that even its employees believe is the real deal.

The bricks-and-mortar store in Kunming, Yunnan province, was stumbled upon by a 27-year-old American blogger living in the city. Complete with the white Apple logo, wooden tables and cheery staff claiming they work for the iPhone-maker, the store looks just like Apple Stores all over the world, according to the blogger, known as “BirdAbroad”.

But Apple has no stores in Kunming and only 13 authorised resellers in the city, who are not allowed to call themselves Apple Stores or claim to work for Apple.

“This was a total Apple Store rip-off. A beautiful rip-off – a brilliant one – the best rip-off store we had ever seen,” the anonymous blogger posted on Wednesday.

“Being the curious types that we are, we struck up some conversation with these salespeople who, hand to God, all genuinely think they work for Apple.”

It was unclear whether the Kunming store was selling fake or genuine Apple products – there are countless unauthorised resellers of products from Apple and other brands throughout the country who obtain authentic goods overseas and smuggle them into the country to skip tax.

At one unauthorised Apple reseller in Shanghai visited this week, the shop was decorated in much the same way as Apple stores, with wooden tables and chairs with iPads laid out for customers to try out. There was a giveaway though: it sold other products, like chocolate jigsaw puzzles, that would never see the light of day at a real Apple Store.

Apple itself declined to comment on the matter. – (Reuters)