Did Apple Inc. (AAPL) Just Lose this Foreign Market?

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Second, wealthy Brazilians are extremely brand-conscious. Authentic Apple products show even more status than they do in the U.S.; Apple will lose few potential iPhone customers to the aesthetically unappealing iphone neo one. Likewise, U.S. brands that are not sold in Brazil earn a status premium, making them high on retail tourists’ shopping lists. MAC Cosmetics and clothing brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) currently have this extra exclusivity allure, and suspended iPhone sales could add Apple to that group.

To conclude, Thursday’s ruling will impact Apple’s bottom line through legal fees and a possible trademark purchase. However, it will likely have only a modest impact on the number of Brazilians buying iPhones and may actually drive up Brazilian demand for the products by making Apple’s iPhones temporarily more exclusive.

The article Did Apple Just Lose this Foreign Market? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Calla Hummel.

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