H&N? Hugo BGSS? And SFFCCCKS Coffee? Welcome to Wuxi city, which might be home of the phoniest shopping street in all of China.
The signs are located on a shopping street at Shimao Skyscrapers. Instead of Apple, thereās āAppla.ā Instead of Zara, thereās āZare.ā H&M is āH&N.ā These donāt appear to be actual shops (though, they could be!), but rather, logos and facades for the building complexākind of like a movie set.
The photos below have been circulating online in China recently.
Nothing is safe! As website HugChina points out, even Chinaās largest bank is knocked off with a fake sign.
According to Jeremy Blum at South China Morning Post, these are pre-made signs for empty shops in hopes of creating potential buyers. However, online in China, the street has become an object of ridicule. Some call the signs āmisleadingā and āinfringement,ā and are asking for the practice to stop.
This shopping street in Wuxi has a cluster of counterfeit brands based on some of the worldās most famous [Hug China]
ę é”ę愼ēęā山寨大ēā [iFeng]
To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.