A consumer rights expert is claiming that Carrefour stores in Beijing are selling books and videos without a license.
According to Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce, stores have to get a license to sell books and videos.
Zhao Jianlei, who makes a living by taking sellers of fake goods in Beijing to court, said Carrefour stores don't have the license but do sell these products inside their premises.
"I have reported the case to the Xuanwu district administration for industry and commerce," Zhao told METRO.
Zhao said he purchased some DVD movies in Carrefour's Maliandao store in Xuanwu district and found them to be cheaper than standard outlets.
"I suspected they were pirate, so I checked regulations published online and discovered Carrefour is not licensed to sell books and videos," Zhao said.
A public relations officer with Carrefour told Mirror Evening News that Carrefour rents space to other companies that operate independently.
However, most of these stores inside Carrefour provide invoices using the supermarket name, vendors said.
"If you buy books here, we can give you an invoice in the name of Carrefour," a salesman at the book and video area inside the Carrefour supermarket in Jing'anzhuan, Chaoyang district, told METRO.
"If those companies inside Carrefour are allowed to sell books and videos, why don't they sell them in their own name?" Zhao asked.
"And if Carrefour is not allowed to run this business, why do they try to fool customers by hanging Carrefour signs and providing Carrefour invoices?"
Zhao said he has since received a call from Xuanwu bureau stating that the case has been passed up to the municipal bureau, since most Carrefour stores have a similar situation.
