A mall war has broken out in China, as one mall is upset at another for working to open the world’s largest Apple Store. Yesterday, Apple put up posters advertising its new Store in the massive Parkland Mall in Dailan China. Neighboring mall Dalian Department Store quickly became concerned and sent its security team to knock the signs over. As you can see in the video below, havoc quickly ensued.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oeVPitvFSSA
Whether the guards were sent out of jealousy or it was merely the fact that the construction barricades were blocking the public plaza, no one knows. What is clear, however, is that Dalian was pissed. As MIC Gadget notes, once they were up, the Dalian Department Store guards ran over and quickly worked to dismantle the signs, but only to be stopped by more than 10 guards hired by Apple to protect them. It wasn’t long before outright war broke out.
How could signs promoting an upcoming Apple Store location possibly lead to such a riot? It’s not entirely clear, but the signs the guards were fighting over were put up yesterday afternoon by Apple. Roughly translated, they read: “The World’s Biggest Apple Store, Coming Soon To Parkland Mall.” It’s possible that the Dalian Department Store simply didn’t like the idea of being overshadowed by the world’s largest outlet of the world’s most profitable retail chain.
As for why Apple selected Dailan, China for it’s largest flagship store, Dailan is a huge tourist attraction, having clean air, good food, and comfortable weather. It’s also pretty dang rich, and known for its luxurious shopping opportunities. It looks to be a pretty nice spot for an Apple Store, drawing people from China, Japan, and Korea.
Hopefully the folks from the neighboring Dailan Department Store don’t interfere with the construction anymore… or, if they do, settle this like gentlemen, using Nerf guns and super soakers.
