Apple to Open First Retail Store in Brazil on February 15

Apple has confirmed on its website that it will be opening its first retail store in Brazil on Saturday, February 15. The store will be located in Rio de Janeiro's famous Barra da Tijuca borough, located at the VillageMall luxury shopping center.

applestore_brazil_invite
The news follows a report from last October stating that Apple was planning to open its first store in the South American country between February and March 2014, giving the location a few months to be up and running before the start of the FIFA World Cup being held in Rio during the months of June and July.

The prior report also stated that Apple would be seeking some of its U.S. Apple retail employees to temporarily relocate to Brazil to educate local employees about Apple retail procedures and act as in-store workers. However, it is unclear as to whether Apple actually followed through on the initiative or not. Apple's difficulty in recruiting employees for its Brazilian store was reportedly one of the reasons as to why the company could not open the store in July as originally intended.

Apple began hiring for its first Brazilian retail stores in November 2012, and has been working with Foxconn to move some iPhone and iPad production to the country to avoid hefty import taxes and allow Apple to expand its market share. Last October, a regulatory agency also granted Apple the authorization needed to sell the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in Brazil, as both phones launched in the country shortly thereafter. It was also reported earlier this week that the company will restart iPhone 4 production in order to sell the device in Brazil, India, and Indonesia.

Thanks, Cássio!

Popular Stories

App Store vs EU Feature 2

Apple Says It Doesn't Approve of EU Porn App

Monday February 3, 2025 1:15 pm PST by
Apple does not approve of the "Hot Tub" pornography app that was released for the iPhone in the EU using alternative app distribution, Apple said in a statement to MacRumors. Further, Apple is concerned about the potential user safety risks with a pornography app, and says that it undermines consumer trust in the Apple ecosystem. We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore...
General Apple Invites Feature

Apple Launches New 'Invites' App

Tuesday February 4, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple today announced the launch of a new app called "Invites," which is designed to allow users to plan events like birthday parties, graduations, vacations, baby showers, and more. "With Apple Invites, an event comes to life from the moment the invitation is created, and users can share lasting memories even after they get together," said Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple's senior director of...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Raises Monthly AppleCare+ Subscription Price for All iPhones

Tuesday February 4, 2025 9:35 am PST by
Apple this week increased the prices for its monthly AppleCare+ subscription prices for the iPhone, raising the cost by 50 cents for all models in the United States. Standard AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 models is now priced at $10.49 per month, for example, up from the prior $9.99 per month price. The 50 cent price increase applies to all available AppleCare+ plans for Apple's current...
iCloud General Feature Redux

'Apple Invites' Leaked on iCloud Website

Tuesday February 4, 2025 7:11 am PST by
Update: The new Apple Invites app has officially been announced. The main iCloud.com page has seemingly confirmed Apple's rumored invites tool, which has yet to be officially announced by the company. The page says "Apple Invites" will be an iCloud+ feature:Upgrade to iCloud+ to get more storage, plan events with Apple Invites, and have peace of mind with privacy features like iCloud...
maxresdefault

An Apple TV Refresh is Coming in 2025 - Here's What You Should Know

Wednesday February 5, 2025 10:17 am PST by
Apple hasn't refreshed the Apple TV since 2022, but rumors suggest that we're finally going to get an update in 2025. We don't have a full picture of what to expect yet, but we have some hints on what's coming. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Updated A-Series Chip The current Apple TV 4K uses the A15 Bionic chip that was in the iPhone 13 lineup, and it's time for...
apple power beats pro 2

Apple Expected to Announce Powerbeats Pro 2 on February 11 With These New Features

Sunday February 2, 2025 6:15 am PST by
Apple previously teased that Powerbeats Pro 2 would be released in 2025, and now an announcement date has leaked. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said Apple plans to unveil the wireless earbuds on Tuesday, February 11. Powerbeats Pro 2 will be priced at $250 in the U.S., he said. Powerbeats Pro are a sportier, fitness-focused alternative to AirPods Pro with built-in, adjustable ear hooks...
hot tub app eu

EU's AltStore Gets First Native iOS Pornography App

Monday February 3, 2025 11:13 am PST by
In the European Union, the Digital Markets Act allows developers to distribute iOS apps through alternate app stores. While Apple checks those apps for malware and other malicious content, there are few restrictions on subject matter, unlike Apple's own App Store. As a result, EU users can now download the first dedicated native pornography app created for the iPhone. Called Hot Tub, the app ...
maxresdefault

Testing Apple's New Invites App for Event Planning

Tuesday February 4, 2025 10:26 am PST by
Apple today surprised us with a new Invites app, which is designed for planning events like birthday parties, vacations, and baby showers. We checked it out in our latest video to see how it works, what you can use it for, and to demonstrate all of the different features in the app. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Invites is a standalone app that you can download...

Top Rated Comments

strategicthinke Avatar
144 months ago
Do you know anything about Brazil?

Dear "silvetti", I wonder if you know anything about Brazil and Rio de Janeiro or if you are just a self-centered first world citizen with a "better-than-you" mindset. You'd be surprised at how much culture, development and wealth we have here...
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
silvetti Avatar
144 months ago
They better put private security company with AR15's at the door and around or the stock will be over in a day :D
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Roniniku Avatar
144 months ago
Relax there tough guy...

Dear "silvetti", I wonder if you know anything about Brazil and Rio de Janeiro or if you are just a self-centered first world citizen with a "better-than-you" mindset. You'd be surprised at how much culture, development and wealth we have here...

Yes, Brazil does have a lot of culture, development in some areas and a sliver of wealth but it is also absolutely rife with violent crime. Silvetti's comment was on point but was clearly made in jest. Calling him/her self-centred was pretty lame. Are "first world" countries better? In most ways, of course they are. Does brazil have to be bad to make them good, no way...and does them being good make Brazil bad? Nope. Brazil has the ability to make itself just as good as any other country but it starts from the inside. It's great that you love your country, as you should...now do what you can to fix it, in any small way, rather than hurling childish insults.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aziesemer Avatar
144 months ago
Dear "silvetti", I wonder if you know anything about Brazil and Rio de Janeiro or if you are just a self-centered first world citizen with a "better-than-you" mindset. You'd be surprised at how much culture, development and wealth we have here...

I live in Brazil too and recognise violence is an endemic problem in our country, so, why are you so offended? "Mongrel" complex??

Just to refresh you memory:

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=pt&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fnoticias.r7.com%2Fsao-paulo%2Fnoticias%2Fcarga-da-apple-avaliada-em-r-3-5-milhoes-e-roubada-em-viracopos-20121023.html&act=url
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nnn3 Avatar
144 months ago
Inferiority complex

To strategicthinke:

I live in Brazil, and I find the general inferiority complex quite annoying. Why does every potential criticism require an angry response? You could have interpreted the comment as saying that demand will be astronomical. Just relax, no one is picking on you or your country, at least not more then people make fun of other countries.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brdeveloper Avatar
144 months ago
At least the "cariocas" will be able to return their Retina Macbooks because of screen issues in store, without having to send it to Apple by their own expenses as other brazilians have to do.

Anyway, it's a new era for consumer rights in Brazil if Apple keeps the same return policies they apply in developed countries. I live in Porto Alegre, so I'm still unable to enjoy the benefits of having an Apple Store nearby.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)