New China Mall Devoted to Such Knock-Off Brands as “Bucksstar” Coffee, “Pizza Huh” Slices and “McDnoald’s” Burgers

Money Morning Staff Reports

The Red Dragon has solidified its reputation as the "king of the counterfeiters" with the near-completion of a new shopping center that may actually be the world's first mall to be totally dedicated to fake brands.

A British newspaper has reported that some of the brand impostors at the mall in Nanjing - which is situated east of of the Mainland China East Coast city of Shanghai - include a McDonald's Corp. (MCD) look-a-like burger bar called "McDnoald's," a Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) style coffee shop called "Bucksstar Coffee," and a wannabe Pizza Hut called "Pizza Huh."

Huh?

According to a report in the U.K. Daily Mirror newspaper, Nanjing city leaders are already under pressure to shutter the soon-to-be opened mall after pictures of the fake stores were leaked, causing uproar among angry China consumers - many of whom feared they'd get ripped off and not even realise it.
"Not every shopper is brand conscious so a lot of people will walk into these stores thinking they are getting the real thing," said an angry shopper in a local newspaper."The whole idea of this mall is plain dishonest. Some fakes are done light-heartedly to be funny, but these stores look so much like the real thing people are going to feel cheated."

Pizza Hut, along with KFC and Taco Bell, is an eatery chain operated worldwide by Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM) of the United States. Yum, a spin-off from PepsiCo Inc. (PEP), can boast that all three of its chains are among the most popular and fastest-growing fast-food chains in Mainland China, Money Morning has reported in its "Hot Stocks" column.

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