Apple Confirms: First Retail Store In Brazil To Open On Feb. 15
Brazil is set to get its first ever Apple Retail Store on Feb. 15, Apple has confirmed.
The news surfaced online at Apple’s website, and there the new store’s Grand Opening is listed as being scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 15, at 11 a.m. local time. Apple’s first Brazilian retail store is located in the Barra da Tijuca district of Rio de Janeiro, in the high end VillageMall shopping center.
Back in October, we indeed explained that Apple had its sights set on Rio for a new retail store. Our original article noted that 2014 is set to be a good year for the city, and Apple has clearly planned the launch of its new Apple Retail Store carefully:
In 2014, the FIFA World Cup is being held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and as such a February-March launch for Rio’s Apple Retail Store would fit perfectly. Given that the city is set to receive a huge wave of visitors during the summer months of 2014, an Apple Retail Store in the region would obviously do well.
Apple made a similar move in 2008, launching a retail store in Beijing to coincide with the Olympic Games.
Rio’s VillageMall Apple Retail Store has been under construction since 2012, and back then, Apple was said to have hired a number of employees for its upcoming store. We also heard that several U.S. retail employees could be asked to temporarily relocate to Brazil to work in the new venue, but as of this writing it’s not known whether such a move did end up being made.
If you’re based in Rio, the new Apple Retail Store is opening its doors to the public on Feb. 15 at 11 a.m. local time, as mentioned.
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