The Brand Man Speaks

Fake Apple Store in China launched hoping to get Apple's approval to be the real thing? What were they thinking?

SEE UPDATE at end of original post for more details

I tweeted about this story shortly after it hit the wires last week. An "Apple" retail store in China ( not located in a major city or even an affluent suburb area) was "outed" by a blogger. The store looked every bit the real McCoy down to the employees wearing the trademark blue apple shirt and ID tags. However, the keen eyed blogger noticed the store used the words "Apple Store" on its signage and real Apple stores do not. They only use the bitten Apple logo to identify themselves.

The products apparently look and function like the real thing too and store personnel were absolutely sure they were employed by Apple as well. Wow amazing, huh?

The truth has now surfaced. The store is a phony and not even created by approved third party Apple re-sellers. It was a store built to "hope" that Apple would approve the owners as a legitimate Apple products store (NOT!).

The store's manager says he is aware the store is not real but claims the products are all legit Apple products. How can that be? Apparently they buy the products from other Apple stores in China or authentic re-sellers and use those purchases as inventory for the phony store. Not sure how they planned to make a profit since they were buying and selling at the same price.

Wacky story but shows how strong the Apple brand is in China with only four stores in the entire country so far. Two in Beijing and two in Shanghai.

Watching out for you every day.

Eli

UPDATE

It appears there were five (5) fake Apple stores in one small town. Given the media attention one of the stores that was publicly outed received, the Chinese government investigated. They have determined two of the stores must close not because they infringe on Apple's trademarks, but rather because they failed to obtain a business license prior to opening. China now says they are not sure that Apple has correctly applied for trademark and copyright protection of their name, logo and products and thus they have not closed the remaining three stores that have valid business licenses.

China has the worse record for trademark and copyright violations in the world. By far.

Will J Lo's split from Marc Anthony derail apparel launch at Kohl's? Unlikely

Speculation among the media is that J Lo's public split from husband of 7 years Marc Anthony will have a sobering impact on the pending launch of two lifestyle brand product lines at mass merchandiser Kohl's.

I think this is one of those cases where J Lo's launch may benefit from the split, yet her hubby's line may quickly fizzle.

J Lo has done a remarkable job of re-inventing herself this past year increasing her public exposure and profile mega-fold for the first time in some years. Her successful participation on American Idol did wonders for her image especially as a style icon.

Many people always wondered about the marriage which appeared to be a good one at first but in some ways seemed a strange match. Reports indicated that Anthony was a control freak and with J Lo's increasing popularity and income stress over losing control may have forced the split. Rumors about a fling with Cuban born hunk "Levy" on her most recent video shoot certainly contributed to her sex appeal and image enhancement.

I believe that J Lo will be even more popular and in demand now that she is splitting from Anthony. As long as the divorce is (mostly) amicable I see no reason why her new apparel line won't be a hit at Kohl's unless the designs and product itself are disappointing, poorly made or not considered good value. She's hot, sexy, on top of her game, looks amazing and yet remains an inspiration to millions of women and craved by many men (Sexiest woman in the world according to People this year).

On the other hand, Anthony's popularity is limited and more niche oriented and his appeal was heightened by his marriage to J Lo. I see his "Q" factor and overall appeal, especially interest in his still unlaunched men's line for Kohl's diminishing fast. As a single act he lacks mass appeal and his style factor again was mostly enhanced by his attachment to her.

The couple has said that they will continue to work together on a latin oriented talent reality show for the moment but it remains to be seen if this pairing can still go the distance professionally. A tough move for most celebrities after they divorce.

I'll check back on this subject a month or so after the product launch.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli