As a Brazilian owner of Apple products since the late 80s, I can tell you that this is truly great news for the huge market down there - sometimes the usual US citizen forgets (or more often ignores) that people do have money in other parts of the world, perhaps even more so than the average US consumer...no wonder Brazil already has the world's most profitable McDonald's and Ferrari units in São Paulo - and trust me: the Rio Apple Store opening will easily propel it to the top five Apple Stores in the world revenue- and foot traffic-wise.
Barra da Tijuca is an awesome neighborhood located in Rio's affluent and tourist-friendly Southern Zone, and full of upscale malls and stores; Apple couldn't have chosen a better venue for its first Brazilian store, particularly considering that Rio will not only receive World Cup matches in 2014, but also host the Olympics in 2016. In other words, we are talking here about millions of high-spending residents PLUS thousands/millions of tourists over the next years.
Another point to be highlighted: due in part to local manufacturing efforts, prices are already beginning to become more "civilized" even though they are far from tax-free levels; in any case, the average middle class Brazilian consumer prefers to pay in instalments...so even an expensive iMac can be more easily paid in 12 months instead of at a single shot.
Also, I understand Apple stores are nice places, and deserve to be see. But I wouldn't wait hours to see an opening. Moreover, once opened, it only take less than an hour for the store to become accessible by anyone without having to wait.
The first Apple Store in all Latin America? That's an entire continent that's been without an Apple store. Strange!
Then again, it's also true that Auburn, AL--Tim Cook's own college town--is also without an Apple store. I live there and the closest stores are some two hours away in either Birmingham or Atlanta. Note these facts, many driven by the high-tech companies moving here.
* In 2013 Lumosity placed it on a list of fifty of the "Smartest Cities" in the country.
* That same year Forbes voted it the #10 Best Small City for Jobs in the U.S. and the #18 Best Place for Business and Careers.
* U.S. News, with its usual list-mania, has rated it one of the "Top 10 Best Places to Live in the U.S."
* Finally, this year Forbes voted it one of the "Top 25 Best Places to Retire."
In short, there's something for all ages and all aspirations (except surfing). About the only thing Auburn lacks is an Apple Store.
--Mike Perry
It's about purchase power. How much do you think Apple can sell products in such small town? BTW, I'm glad because we have 5 Apple stores within 15 mi from where I work here. It's nice to live in Silicon Valley where is surrounded top tech company in the world.
Here is a quick and dirty search looking for cities I know that are college towns, touristy, or that I've never heard as a potential indicator of having a small population.
18,511 (2000) — King of Prussia, PA
29,003 (2012) – Monterey, CA
45,878 (2012) – San Luis Obispo, CA
49,946 (2012) – Troy, MI
I found a couple, like Palo Alto, that were just over over 60k.
I would be far more concerned with the population of the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and the affluence of the population.
due in part to local manufacturing efforts, prices are already beginning to become more "civilized" even though they are far from tax-free levels
I am always amazed at Brazil's barriers to imports. The local content laws are some of the strictest I've worked with when trying to sell products in Brazil.
It is a very attractive market, for the reasons you pointed out, but it is difficult to bring the latest there quickly as there is so much investment required to meet the local content laws and avoid the very high import taxes.
The first Apple Store in all Latin America? That's an entire continent that's been without an Apple store. Strange!
Then again, it's also true that Auburn, AL--Tim Cook's own college town--is also without an Apple store. I live there and the closest stores are some two hours away in either Birmingham or Atlanta. Note these facts, many driven by the high-tech companies moving here.
* In 2013 Lumosity placed it on a list of fifty of the "Smartest Cities" in the country.
* That same year Forbes voted it the #10 Best Small City for Jobs in the U.S. and the #18 Best Place for Business and Careers.
* U.S. News, with its usual list-mania, has rated it one of the "Top 10 Best Places to Live in the U.S."
* Finally, this year Forbes voted it one of the "Top 25 Best Places to Retire."
In short, there's something for all ages and all aspirations (except surfing). About the only thing Auburn lacks is an Apple Store.
--Mike Perry
Apple retail locations are for high volume sales and not necessarily just for customer convenience. Apple is a business and not necessary benevolent. They don't just propagate like a Radio Shack franchise with thousands of stores (more then two thousand). The on-line store, Best Buy Store, Target and Walmart fill the gaps for displaying the products. Your town might be a nice place to live, but it wouldn't support the current strategy. Many communities are neglected and some are wealthy. Palm Springs, Malibu and Beverly Hills don't have a stores.
Also, I understand Apple stores are nice places, and deserve to be see. But I wouldn't wait hours to see an opening. Moreover, once opened, it only take less than an hour for the store to become accessible by anyone without having to wait.
I think people generally enjoy being enthusiastic about things they identify with. I'd put myself in this category; although, unfortunately, I haven't had a good opportunity to make it to an Apple store opening. I figure if people can get so worked up about a sports team due to simple geography, then I can be enthusiastic about Apple, for the many different reasons I identify with and appreciate the company. Just to be clear, I'm not trashing sports; I've played many sports,but I just don't find them particularly entertaining to watch.
The first Apple Store in all Latin America? That's an entire continent that's been without an Apple store. Strange!
There are lots of Apple Authorized stores in Latin America. In Panama we have Mac Stores which look identical to Apple stores except no Apple logo but inside they are exactly the same - all the same products, but slightly higher price. We also have Panafoto which carries pretty much the entire Apple product line. Altogether between just those two chains we probably have maybe ten locations. Same situation in Costa Rica.
Personally, I would prefer that Apple not open a store here because it would likely put Mac Store out of business just like what happened to all the small Authorized dealers in the US. If Apple opened a store here it would likely be in Panama City which is 800 km from where I live. Right now I have a Mac Store and a Panafoto within 50 km.
I am always amazed at Brazil's barriers to imports. The local content laws are some of the strictest I've worked with when trying to sell products in Brazil.
It is a very attractive market, for the reasons you pointed out, but it is difficult to bring the latest there quickly as there is so much investment required to meet the local content laws and avoid the very high import taxes.
This is mainly due to policies of import substitution and "infant industry" initiatives which were introduced back in the 60s and 70s - to be fair, some great champions nowadays (like Embraer) would not have seen the light of the day without such policies. However, the so-called "market reserve" rule, which was meant to foster development of a local IT industry, had the perverse effect of locking out innovation and protecting a bunch of cloners and reverse-engineered device makers.
What we see in Brazil is just a continuation of those more protectionist policies, which have long outlived their original usefulness and are now impediments to trade and innovation in cutting-edge areas...however, do not disregard the Brazilian consumer's willingness to pay - taxes are just ONE component; another is the fact that people ACCEPT to pay more for coveted items, just like what happens with cars over there...companies mask their huge profit margins behind the "fiscal" excuse.
Nice to see Apple expanding and big congrats out to the Brazilian Apple Fans.
I'm wondering how much of a coincidence this is with the World Cup coming up this summer? Regardless it's good timing
Just wanted to mention for the record that we didn't get the first official Apple Store in Germany until December 6, 2008 (Munich).... basically not much longer than 5 years ago. We now have just 12.
Up until that point we of course had Apple Authorized Resellers, one of which I worked with closely for over 20 years. Most of these resellers were very small and mostly specialty shops, although one named Gravis had a pretty large organization with multiple stores across the country. However... they were not in the same league as a REAL Apple Store. Bad stories not worth repeating...
On the one hand I think you're correct. We can split hairs and go either way, cite different dictionaries to support one side or the other. But I'm with you, their wording is slightly on the inaccurate side and could easily be improved.
On the other hand, I think it's a minor flaw in today's headline. "Thousands" is almost OK. Sometimes, AI's headlines have words that aren't even close to OK and they seem like major flaws to me. I think I'll speak up the next time I see one of those.
Mark Twain gave instruction on how to write well: "Use the correct word, not its first cousin." So in this case I think "thousands" is the first cousin of the correct word, but sometimes we see headline words that aren't even related to the correct word!
Meanwhile, over at the Samsung store opening, they were welcoming tens of customers.
Ya'all seem to have forgotten that it doesn't matter whether the number is 1,000 or 1,200, or 2,001.... the point *which the headline made* is that it was a LOT of people. And it's got you talking about which big number it was, rather than if it was a big number at all.
Remember the lesson in The Manchurian Candidate: "Nobody is asking 'are there any communists in the US Congress?', instead they're asking 'HOW MANY communists are there in the US Congress?'!
Yeah, when I lived in Seattle, I was only a couple of miles from the Apple store in University Village. That was nice. I'd love to see the same convenience here. Atlanta is way too far to drive, and Birmingham is even worse. Auburn does have a third-party vendor here who can do warranty repairs, so it's not hopeless.
Keep in mind that Auburn is the place to live and shop for quite a few miles around, so those long distances to existing Apple stores are a plus. It also tends to be more technically oriented than the typical college town.
KIA has a huge auto factory just across the Georgia line in LaGrange, but quite a few of its executives and management live in Auburn for the top-notch schools. It's less of a commute up a non-urban I-85 than many people take to get cross-city for work. There's also a huge Hyundai factory in Montgomery, about the same distance on the other direction on I-85, so quite a few auto-parts contractors are building factories between the two. Because those factories are recent builds, they're far more state-of-the-art than many legacy auto factories 'up North.' With that and the university, there seem to be almost as many Asians per capita as in Seattle.
Actually, I was just hoping Tim Cook push through a store just for his college time here. It'd be an excuse to come back for the football games with their amazing last-second wins. Of course, he could also build one of those upcoming Apple factories here. One for MacBook Airs would be great. Then I could become a beta-tester for new models. Yeah, that would be nice.
--Mike Perry, Inkling Books
Here's that little KIA plant up the road. Those tiny specs are cars. The South's not just for cotton picking any more.
There are lots of Apple Authorized stores in Latin America. In Panama we have Mac Stores which look identical to Apple stores except no Apple logo but inside they are exactly the same - all the same products, but slightly higher price. We also have Panafoto which carries pretty much the entire Apple product line. Altogether between just those two chains we probably have maybe ten locations. Same situation in Costa Rica.
Personally, I would prefer that Apple not open a store here because it would likely put Mac Store out of business just like what happened to all the small Authorized dealers in the US. If Apple opened a store here it would likely be in Panama City which is 800 km from where I live. Right now I have a Mac Store and a Panafoto within 50 km.
I agree with this comment. Authorized retailers in Costa Rica and Panama make a pretty good job copying the look and feel of the original Apple Stores. You can even bring an US bought computer or iDevice and claim its warranty.
And they are even more hygienic that the ones in the U.S. I remember one unfortunate time I was living in the Bay Area and went to the store at Stockton street for a repair. A homeless guy was listening music from an iPod and was next to me at the counter line. The odor was simple unbearable and nobody from the staff seemed to care, so I left and came back several hours later.
Any of our Brazilian users want to chime in on where else in the country they can buy Apple products?
Apple already has its online store there for quite some time.
There are also dozens/hundreds of online/physical authorized resellers in the country...in fact, we've had authorized resellers since the early 90s; but not an official store until now.
Wow. Are you really thinking that people didn't buy Apple products in Brasil until now? One of the reasons Apple opened their store is also because people are already accustomed to Apple products. As if there were no tech stores in that country. Ridiculous.
Comments
As a Brazilian owner of Apple products since the late 80s, I can tell you that this is truly great news for the huge market down there - sometimes the usual US citizen forgets (or more often ignores) that people do have money in other parts of the world, perhaps even more so than the average US consumer...no wonder Brazil already has the world's most profitable McDonald's and Ferrari units in São Paulo - and trust me: the Rio Apple Store opening will easily propel it to the top five Apple Stores in the world revenue- and foot traffic-wise.
Barra da Tijuca is an awesome neighborhood located in Rio's affluent and tourist-friendly Southern Zone, and full of upscale malls and stores; Apple couldn't have chosen a better venue for its first Brazilian store, particularly considering that Rio will not only receive World Cup matches in 2014, but also host the Olympics in 2016. In other words, we are talking here about millions of high-spending residents PLUS thousands/millions of tourists over the next years.
Another point to be highlighted: due in part to local manufacturing efforts, prices are already beginning to become more "civilized" even though they are far from tax-free levels; in any case, the average middle class Brazilian consumer prefers to pay in instalments...so even an expensive iMac can be more easily paid in 12 months instead of at a single shot.
The first Apple Store in all Latin America? That's an entire continent that's been without an Apple store. Strange!
Then again, it's also true that Auburn, AL--Tim Cook's own college town--is also without an Apple store. I live there and the closest stores are some two hours away in either Birmingham or Atlanta. Note these facts, many driven by the high-tech companies moving here.
* In 2013 Lumosity placed it on a list of fifty of the "Smartest Cities" in the country.
* That same year Forbes voted it the #10 Best Small City for Jobs in the U.S. and the #18 Best Place for Business and Careers.
* U.S. News, with its usual list-mania, has rated it one of the "Top 10 Best Places to Live in the U.S."
* Finally, this year Forbes voted it one of the "Top 25 Best Places to Retire."
In short, there's something for all ages and all aspirations (except surfing). About the only thing Auburn lacks is an Apple Store.
--Mike Perry
It's about purchase power. How much do you think Apple can sell products in such small town? BTW, I'm glad because we have 5 Apple stores within 15 mi from where I work here. It's nice to live in Silicon Valley where is surrounded top tech company in the world.
I would be far more concerned with the population of the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and the affluence of the population.
due in part to local manufacturing efforts, prices are already beginning to become more "civilized" even though they are far from tax-free levels
I am always amazed at Brazil's barriers to imports. The local content laws are some of the strictest I've worked with when trying to sell products in Brazil.
It is a very attractive market, for the reasons you pointed out, but it is difficult to bring the latest there quickly as there is so much investment required to meet the local content laws and avoid the very high import taxes.
The first Apple Store in all Latin America? That's an entire continent that's been without an Apple store. Strange!
Then again, it's also true that Auburn, AL--Tim Cook's own college town--is also without an Apple store. I live there and the closest stores are some two hours away in either Birmingham or Atlanta. Note these facts, many driven by the high-tech companies moving here.
* In 2013 Lumosity placed it on a list of fifty of the "Smartest Cities" in the country.
* That same year Forbes voted it the #10 Best Small City for Jobs in the U.S. and the #18 Best Place for Business and Careers.
* U.S. News, with its usual list-mania, has rated it one of the "Top 10 Best Places to Live in the U.S."
* Finally, this year Forbes voted it one of the "Top 25 Best Places to Retire."
In short, there's something for all ages and all aspirations (except surfing). About the only thing Auburn lacks is an Apple Store.
--Mike Perry
Apple retail locations are for high volume sales and not necessarily just for customer convenience. Apple is a business and not necessary benevolent. They don't just propagate like a Radio Shack franchise with thousands of stores (more then two thousand). The on-line store, Best Buy Store, Target and Walmart fill the gaps for displaying the products. Your town might be a nice place to live, but it wouldn't support the current strategy. Many communities are neglected and some are wealthy. Palm Springs, Malibu and Beverly Hills don't have a stores.
I think people generally enjoy being enthusiastic about things they identify with. I'd put myself in this category; although, unfortunately, I haven't had a good opportunity to make it to an Apple store opening. I figure if people can get so worked up about a sports team due to simple geography, then I can be enthusiastic about Apple, for the many different reasons I identify with and appreciate the company. Just to be clear, I'm not trashing sports; I've played many sports,but I just don't find them particularly entertaining to watch.
The first Apple Store in all Latin America? That's an entire continent that's been without an Apple store. Strange!
There are lots of Apple Authorized stores in Latin America. In Panama we have Mac Stores which look identical to Apple stores except no Apple logo but inside they are exactly the same - all the same products, but slightly higher price. We also have Panafoto which carries pretty much the entire Apple product line. Altogether between just those two chains we probably have maybe ten locations. Same situation in Costa Rica.
Personally, I would prefer that Apple not open a store here because it would likely put Mac Store out of business just like what happened to all the small Authorized dealers in the US. If Apple opened a store here it would likely be in Panama City which is 800 km from where I live. Right now I have a Mac Store and a Panafoto within 50 km.
I am always amazed at Brazil's barriers to imports. The local content laws are some of the strictest I've worked with when trying to sell products in Brazil.
It is a very attractive market, for the reasons you pointed out, but it is difficult to bring the latest there quickly as there is so much investment required to meet the local content laws and avoid the very high import taxes.
This is mainly due to policies of import substitution and "infant industry" initiatives which were introduced back in the 60s and 70s - to be fair, some great champions nowadays (like Embraer) would not have seen the light of the day without such policies. However, the so-called "market reserve" rule, which was meant to foster development of a local IT industry, had the perverse effect of locking out innovation and protecting a bunch of cloners and reverse-engineered device makers.
What we see in Brazil is just a continuation of those more protectionist policies, which have long outlived their original usefulness and are now impediments to trade and innovation in cutting-edge areas...however, do not disregard the Brazilian consumer's willingness to pay - taxes are just ONE component; another is the fact that people ACCEPT to pay more for coveted items, just like what happens with cars over there...companies mask their huge profit margins behind the "fiscal" excuse.
pole : import taxes :: elephant : profits
I'm wondering how much of a coincidence this is with the World Cup coming up this summer? Regardless it's good timing
Just wanted to mention for the record that we didn't get the first official Apple Store in Germany until December 6, 2008 (Munich).... basically not much longer than 5 years ago. We now have just 12.
Up until that point we of course had Apple Authorized Resellers, one of which I worked with closely for over 20 years. Most of these resellers were very small and mostly specialty shops, although one named Gravis had a pretty large organization with multiple stores across the country. However... they were not in the same league as a REAL Apple Store. Bad stories not worth repeating...
On the one hand I think you're correct. We can split hairs and go either way, cite different dictionaries to support one side or the other. But I'm with you, their wording is slightly on the inaccurate side and could easily be improved.
On the other hand, I think it's a minor flaw in today's headline. "Thousands" is almost OK. Sometimes, AI's headlines have words that aren't even close to OK and they seem like major flaws to me. I think I'll speak up the next time I see one of those.
Mark Twain gave instruction on how to write well: "Use the correct word, not its first cousin." So in this case I think "thousands" is the first cousin of the correct word, but sometimes we see headline words that aren't even related to the correct word!
Meanwhile, over at the Samsung store opening, they were welcoming tens of customers.
Ya'all seem to have forgotten that it doesn't matter whether the number is 1,000 or 1,200, or 2,001.... the point *which the headline made* is that it was a LOT of people. And it's got you talking about which big number it was, rather than if it was a big number at all.
Remember the lesson in The Manchurian Candidate: "Nobody is asking 'are there any communists in the US Congress?', instead they're asking 'HOW MANY communists are there in the US Congress?'!
Yeah, when I lived in Seattle, I was only a couple of miles from the Apple store in University Village. That was nice. I'd love to see the same convenience here. Atlanta is way too far to drive, and Birmingham is even worse. Auburn does have a third-party vendor here who can do warranty repairs, so it's not hopeless.
Keep in mind that Auburn is the place to live and shop for quite a few miles around, so those long distances to existing Apple stores are a plus. It also tends to be more technically oriented than the typical college town.
KIA has a huge auto factory just across the Georgia line in LaGrange, but quite a few of its executives and management live in Auburn for the top-notch schools. It's less of a commute up a non-urban I-85 than many people take to get cross-city for work. There's also a huge Hyundai factory in Montgomery, about the same distance on the other direction on I-85, so quite a few auto-parts contractors are building factories between the two. Because those factories are recent builds, they're far more state-of-the-art than many legacy auto factories 'up North.' With that and the university, there seem to be almost as many Asians per capita as in Seattle.
Actually, I was just hoping Tim Cook push through a store just for his college time here. It'd be an excuse to come back for the football games with their amazing last-second wins. Of course, he could also build one of those upcoming Apple factories here. One for MacBook Airs would be great. Then I could become a beta-tester for new models. Yeah, that would be nice.
--Mike Perry, Inkling Books
Here's that little KIA plant up the road. Those tiny specs are cars. The South's not just for cotton picking any more.
There are lots of Apple Authorized stores in Latin America. In Panama we have Mac Stores which look identical to Apple stores except no Apple logo but inside they are exactly the same - all the same products, but slightly higher price. We also have Panafoto which carries pretty much the entire Apple product line. Altogether between just those two chains we probably have maybe ten locations. Same situation in Costa Rica.
Personally, I would prefer that Apple not open a store here because it would likely put Mac Store out of business just like what happened to all the small Authorized dealers in the US. If Apple opened a store here it would likely be in Panama City which is 800 km from where I live. Right now I have a Mac Store and a Panafoto within 50 km.
I agree with this comment. Authorized retailers in Costa Rica and Panama make a pretty good job copying the look and feel of the original Apple Stores. You can even bring an US bought computer or iDevice and claim its warranty.
And they are even more hygienic that the ones in the U.S. I remember one unfortunate time I was living in the Bay Area and went to the store at Stockton street for a repair. A homeless guy was listening music from an iPod and was next to me at the counter line. The odor was simple unbearable and nobody from the staff seemed to care, so I left and came back several hours later.
Any of our Brazilian users want to chime in on where else in the country they can buy Apple products?
Apple already has its online store there for quite some time.
There are also dozens/hundreds of online/physical authorized resellers in the country...in fact, we've had authorized resellers since the early 90s; but not an official store until now.
https://www.apple.com/br/buy/
Sorry, I should have only quoted the “another store” part. I meant physical ones.
As if there were no tech stores in that country. Ridiculous.
http://www.fnac.com.br/Lojas.aspx