A Shanghai-based real estate developer admitted Tuesday that it was building imitation Starbucks and FamilyMart stores as a ploy to persuade potential tenants that its development in Jiading district has already attracted well-known global franchises.

The unfinished stores, which bore the names of "Starbucss" and "FamilyMar," show the commitment that at least one developer has made to a not-unheard-of ploy to entice businesses to lease its storefronts.

The developer, CIFI Group, never intended to actually open the stores, said Jin Yan, a press officer for the well-known real estate company. "The imitation stores were only designed to attract potential buyers who might like to start businesses there," Jin told the Global Times.

A construction crew works on imitation Starbucks and FamilyMart stores at a residential complex in Jiading district. District authorities ordered the complex's developer to cover the stores' signs, which read "Starbucss" and "FamilyMar." Photo: Yang Hui/GT

The stores came to public attention  when a microblogger uploaded a picture of the exteriors of the two shops, which were located in a residential development near the Baiyin Road Station on metro Line 11, the news portal xinmin.cn reported Monday.

Despite the spelling differences, the stores bore a close resemblance to the franchises they were imitating. Their signs employed the same colors and fonts used by genuine Starbucks and FamilyMart shops.

It is not the first time that a developer used recognizable brand names to impress potential tenants.

The US television news program 60 Minutes reported on March 3 that a shopping mall in Henan Province had hung the signs of brands such as Apple, KFC and Starbucks over many of its empty storefronts.

CIFI took the ruse a step further by actually building the shops.

The district's commerce authority responded to the news by ordering CIFI to cover-up the signs, said an official surnamed Gu from the Jiading office of the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce. The administration has opened an investigation into the case.

Construction crews were still at work on the interiors of the stores Tuesday afternoon, installing floor tiles in front of the shops. However, the signs had been covered with yellow cloths.

CIFI was also building another store whose sign resembled that of the popular Christine chain of bakeries. It was also covered.

Jin said that the development is still under construction and no residents or businesses have moved in. He also acknowledged it was a "mistake" to put up the imitation signs. "We will take down the signs and change them to something that will not point to a specific brand," he said.

CIFI had hired an advertising company to promote the development, Jin said. The agency was the one that came up with the idea to create the imitation stores.