Apple’s iPhone enters Brazilian market at highest price

Apple Inc. is making its debut in Latin America today as the company expands into a fifteenth country and opens a store in Rio de Janeiro, which will offer the costliest iPhone of all the nations listed on its website.

Apple will sell the 16-gigabyte version of its latest smartphone model at almost double price compared to what customers pay in the US. The contract-free 16gb iPhone has a price tag of $1,174 (2,799 reais) in Brazil, compared to $649 in the U.S. and $872 (5,288 renminbi) in China. As reported by Bloomberg, the price of Apples smartphone flagman offered by authorized resellers in Brazil has jumped by 17% since September. Apples 16gb iPad will be sold for $566 (1,349 reais), well above the $399 consumers pay in the US.

With its 50 million smartphone users at the end of 2013, or 3% of the global user base, Brazil is one of the top ten smartphone markets, according to Neil Mawston, director of global wireless practice for Strategy Analytics. Having lost market share to its competitors, and especially to its main rival – Samsung Electronics Co., Apple is aiming to boost sales by entering the biggest emerging economies.

The company could have been better off expanding into its fifteenth country a few years ago before its economy began to cool off, but nevertheless demand for the companys high quality products is still expected to result in satisfying sales and growth.

As a sign of economic slowdown, retail sales in the Latin country, which have been the main driver of its economic growth, fell to 4.3% in 2013, the slowest advance in a decade, and just a half of 2012s 8.4% growth. According to a Bloomberg survey of economists, Brazils economy will expand by 2.05% in 2014, down from 2.3% in 2013.

Neil Mawston said, cited by Bloomberg: “The hype and shine around the Apple brand is not quite as strong as it was two or three years ago, so I wouldn’t expect as strong a buzz. But it still should be quite an exciting launch for Apple, the country and the region as a whole.”

Apple Incs shares fell by 0.08% on Friday to settle at $543.99, marking a one-year change of +18.22%. According to CNN Money, the 44 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Apple Inc have a median target of $587.50, with a high estimate of $777.00 and a low estimate of $360.00. The median estimate represents a +8.00% increase from the last close.