Apple store in Brazil? Jobs says no

Rio de Janeiro may have picked up the 2016 Olympics, but they won't be getting an Apple store. According to MacMagazine Brazil, the city's Secretary of Heritage emailed Steve Jobs personally to ask if there were any plans to start up an Apple store in the city. Jobs replied back in the negative, citing high taxes on imports in the area and saying that "many [other] high-tech companies feel that way."

Apple has no stores at all in Mexico or Central or South America. Almost all foreign countries apply import tariffs to products manufactured elsewhere, but apparently charges in those countries are too high for Jobs to be interested. He said that the high charge "makes it very unattractive to invest in the country." Some manufacturers will lower their retail prices to a certain country in an attempt to dodge higher tariffs on more expensive goods (taking a small cut on profits in order to avoid paying high fees), but obviously Apple, as a premium manufacturer, would rather not get involved if it means lowering their prices. So, for the moment, Brazil will have to go without an Apple Store.

[Thanks, Silvio Sousa Cabra!]