Adapted with permission from Hug China.
H&N, Zare, Hugo BGSS, SFFCCCKS Coffee: these are just some of the counterfeits of famous brands — not the same as “famous counterfeits”… or is it? — you can find on a shopping street in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.
A glimpse of these shops on the ground floor of Shimao Skyscrape commercial and residential complex in the vicinity of the bustling high-speed railway station in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, might give you the impression that they’re all selling products or services from some of the world’s most famous brands.
But take a second-look at these “high-end, extravagant, first-class” (高端, 大气, 上档次) shops and you’ll notice something wrong.
Not only the products incredibly cheaper than they should be, but oh no! it’s not Starbucks, but SFFCCCKS; not Apple, but Appla; not ZARA, but ZARE; not H&M, but H&N; not Hugo BOSS, but Hugo BGSS. Even the largest Chinese bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, ICBC (中国工商银行), has a knock-off: 中国中商银行!
Maybe it’s a homage. Frankly, McDonald’s should be upset there’s no McDougal’s; Burger King should demand Booger King be installed into this building complex’s facade right this instant. And Tennessee Fried Chicken, where you be?
This shopping street in Wuxi has a cluster of counterfeit brands… (Hug China)
UPDATE, 1/14, 11:13 pm: Those brands have been removed.
I enquired about renting space for my FCUK equivalent store and named likewise but turned down by the country’s Bureau of Politeness and Decency, but approved by the Anti Piracy Bureau as the name submitted was in no way suggestive of the original FCUK branding.