Tim Cook Says 'Obrigado' to 1700 Customers Who Lined Up for Opening of Brazil's First Apple Store

Apple CEO Tim Cook has tweeted to say 'Obrigado' to the 1700 customers who lined up for the opening of Apple's first store in Brazil.

'Obrigado' to everyone who visited our new store in Rio de Janeiro today and to our terrific customers across Brazil!

The new store is at VillageMall in Rio's coastal Barra da Tijuca district, which will be the main stage for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Cook posted a photo from the opening which can be seen below.


The Globe reported on the store's launch saying, "Upon opening, about 1,700 people waited in line, according to the mall. The number of customers was higher than 1,500 shirts that the company announced they would be reserved for gifting risers. But Apple had an extra stock to contemplate the large turnout."

The excitement over an Apple Store is particularly amazing in Brazil which has the highest iPhone prices of any country. A 16GB iPhone 5s sells for 2,799 reais ($1,174). That's far more than $649 in the U.S. and $872 in China. Bloomberg notes that the cost of the iPhone 5s in Brazil, offered by authorized resellers, has jumped 17% since September on Apple’s website.

You can see some video of the grand opening below...