Apple to open first retail store in Brazil next week
Located in Rio de Janeiro, the store -- the first for Apple in Latin America -- will open its doors on Saturday, February 15.
Apple is finally launching its first store in Brazil.
The Web site for the new store points to Rio de Janeiro's VillageMall shopping center as its locale and February 15 as its launch date. The store will be Apple's first in Latin America, joining its hundreds of other outlets, most of which are in the US and Europe.
The store will host a couple of workshops on opening day devoted to the iPhone and iPhoto. A workshop on the following day will focus on the iPad, while subsequent workshops will cover iCloud and the Numbers app.
Apple first announced that it would launch a store in Rio de Janeiro in November 2012. At the time, the company was unable to confirm when the store would open or exactly where in Rio de Janeiro it would be located.
Last October, an "inside source" told 9to5Mac that Apple was aiming for a February or March opening and that the company planned to temporarily send US retail employees to Brazil to teach local workers about its retail practices.
"We look forward to the opening of the first Apple Store in Brazil, where we have longstanding customers and hope to win many more every day," Apple said at the time. "We cannot wait to offer the unique Apple retail experience to the people of Rio de Janeiro and customers from across the entire region."
Apple also is reportedly aiming to reintroduce the iPhone 4 in just three countries -- India, Indonesia, and Brazil. If true, the move would be a way to win over more budget-conscious consumers in regions where Apple is losing market share to less expensive phones.
(Via MacRumors)