{{Short description|American computer retail store}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox company | name = Micro Center | logo = Micro Center logo.svg | logo_class = skin-invert-image | type = Division | genre = | foundation = {{start date and age|1979}}, in Columbus, Ohio<ref name="bizjournals">{{cite web |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/01/16/micro-center-opening-stores-in.html |title=Micro Center opening stores in Brooklyn, Queens |last=Eaton |first=Dan |date=January 16, 2014 |publisher=Columbus Business First |access-date=September 23, 2015}}</ref> | founders = John Baker and Bill Bayne<ref name=Miracle>{{cite news |last=Franklin |first=Peter D. |title=The Miracle on Lane Avenue |work=The Columbus Dispatch |date=November 4, 1990}}</ref> | location_city = Hilliard, Ohio | location_country = U.S. | num_locations = 30 (2025) | origins = | key_people = {{Unbulleted list |Richard M. Mershad (CEO)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sos.ks.gov/CM_ServiceWM/displaydocuments.aspx?DocID=04327598 |title=For Profit Corporation Annual Report |date=September 2015 |website=www.sos.ks.gov |format=PDF |access-date=November 2, 2016}}</ref> |Peggy Wolfe (COO)<ref>{{cite web |title=Peggy Wolfe at Micro Electronics, Inc.: Chief Operating Officer |url=https://leadferret.com/directory/person/peggy-wolfe/2997861|website=leadferret.com |access-date=November 3, 2016}}</ref> |Brad Kramer (CFO)<ref>{{cite press release | date=April 22, 2024| title= Micro Center Doubles Down on Unmatched Customer Support in the Tech Retail Industry | publisher= [preweb.com] | url= https://www.prweb.com/releases/micro-center-doubles-down-on-unmatched-customer-support-in-the-tech-retail-industry-302122435.html| accessdate=June 25, 2024}}</ref>}} | area_served = | industry = | products = Computers, consumer electronics and accessories | revenue = $2.4 billion (2015)<ref name=Forbes_2016 /> | revenue_year = | operating_income = | net_income = | num_employees = 2,750 (2016)<ref name=Forbes_2016 /> | num_employees_year = | parent = Micro Electronics, Inc. | divisions = | subsid = | owner = | homepage = {{url|https://microcenter.com}} | dissolved = | footnotes = }}
[[Image:Micro Center CIMG0781.JPG|thumb|right|The former Micro Center store in Houston, Texas, which was replaced with a newly constructed 32,000 square foot store in 2015<ref>{{cite news |date=April 21, 2014 |title=S&P selected to build new Micro Center store near Galleria |url=http://www.chron.com/life/health/article/S-P-selected-to-build-new-Micro-Center-store-near-9898197.php |work=Houston Chronicle |access-date=November 3, 2016}}</ref>]] thumb|right|The Micro Center store in Columbus, Ohio thumb|right|The Apple department in Micro Center Queens, New York
'''Micro Center''' is an American computer retail store chain, headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio. It was founded in 1979, and {{As of|2025|11|lc=y|post=,}} has 30 stores in 20 US states.
==History== Micro Center was founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1979 by John Baker and Bill Bayne, two former Radio Shack employees, with a $35,000 investment.<ref name=Miracle/><ref name=DFAS_1995>Columbus Dispatch DFAS Magazine, "Doing the Right Thing Right" December 1995, p.12</ref> Rick Mershad is the current CEO and President of Micro Center. Mershad was one of the first 10 employees of the company, starting as a Sales Associate two years after the company's founding.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEZO-FuRrtQ | title=Interview with Microcenter CEO Rick Mershad | website=YouTube | date=November 24, 2015 }}</ref> The first Micro Center store was established in a {{convert|900|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} storefront located in the Lane Avenue Shopping Center in Upper Arlington, Ohio. The store benefited from its proximity to Ohio State University and the scientific think-tank Battelle Memorial Institute, which provided a large customer base and a source of computer-literate salespeople.<ref name=Verdon_2007>{{cite news |last=Verdon |first=Joan |date=March 16, 2007 |title=Service is their password - Computer chain to open N.J. store |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_multi=BE%7C&p_product=NJMNP&p_theme=njmnp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=%22Computer%20chain%20to%20open%20N.J.%20store%22%20AND%20date(all)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22Computer%20chain%20to%20open%20N.J.%20store%22)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |work=The Record |location=Hackensack, NJ |page=B01 |access-date=November 8, 2016 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Their goal for the first year was $30 million in sales, and they achieved $29.9 million.<ref name=DFAS_1995/>
In the fall of 1997, Micro Center expanded into Silicon Valley by opening a store in Santa Clara, California.<ref name="Slonaker">{{cite news |last1=Slonaker |first1=Larry |last2=Langberg |first2=Mike |title=Expansion Into New Markets Will Test Fry's Spotty Record on Customer Service |page=13A|work=San Jose Mercury News |date=August 24, 1997 |via=NewsBank}}</ref> To compete against what was then the dominant computer retailer in California, Fry's Electronics, Micro Center stressed its better employee pay and superior customer service.<ref name="Slonaker" />
In 2009, Micro Center developed an "18-minute pickup" service where customers who order merchandise on their website can pick it up from the store in 18 minutes.<ref name="DJI Mavic Pro"/>
On July 23, 2012, Micro Center suddenly closed its Santa Clara store—its only one in Silicon Valley—after it was unable to negotiate a further extension of its store lease.<ref name="McCracken">{{cite news |last1=McCracken |first1=Harry |author1-link=Harry McCracken |title=Technology in the 1990s, as Captured in Obsolete Computer Store Signs |url=https://techland.time.com/2012/08/13/technology-in-the-1990s-as-captured-in-obsolete-computer-store-signs/ |access-date=September 24, 2024 |work=Technologizer (Time) |date=August 13, 2012}}</ref> By then, the store's front facade had already become a dated relic of the late 1990s, with long-obsolete logos from Hayes, USRobotics, Practical Peripherals, Lotus Development, and Fujifilm.<ref name="McCracken" /> A new store opened on May 30, 2025 in a different Santa Clara location formerly occupied by a Bed Bath & Beyond.<ref name="Tolentino">{{cite news |last1=Tolentino |first1=Aaron |title='The best computer store in the world' set to open first Bay Area location |url=https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/the-best-computer-store-in-the-world-set-to-open-first-bay-area-location/ |work=KRON 4 |date=May 28, 2025}}</ref><ref name="Kan">{{cite news |last1=Kan |first1=Michael |title=A PC Builder's Wonderland: Inside Micro Center's New Silicon Valley Store |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/pc-builders-wonderland-inside-new-micro-center-santa-clara-california-store |work=PCMag |date=May 30, 2025}}</ref> The new store was welcomed as filling a significant "void" in Silicon Valley, since the 2021 closure of Fry's had left Best Buy as the only big-box electronics store chain in the area.<ref name="Tolentino" />
In January 2014, the company opened new New York City stores in Brooklyn and Queens.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Eaton |first=Dan |date=2014-01-16 |title=Micro Center opening stores in Brooklyn, Queens |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/01/16/micro-center-opening-stores-in.html |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=www.bizjournals.com}}</ref>
As of May 2025, there are 29 Micro Center stores nationwide in 19 states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia. The chain opened their 30th store in Phoenix, Arizona on November 7, 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leatherman |first=Benjamin |date=2025-11-05 |title=Micro Center in Phoenix: A look inside the new 'tech-heaven' |url=https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts-culture/micro-center-in-phoenix-a-look-inside-the-new-tech-heaven-40618548/ |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Phoenix New Times |language=en-US}}</ref> == Corporate structure == Micro Center is a subsidiary of Micro Electronics, Inc., a privately held corporation headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio.<ref>{{cite book |date=March 2001 |title=Hoover's Handbook of Private Companies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rf7Eam2GfEsC |publisher=Hoover's, Incorporated |isbn=978-1-57311-067-9}}</ref>
Stores are sized up to {{convert|60000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}, stocking about 36,000 products across 700 categories, including major name brands and Micro Center's own brands.<ref name=Hoovers/> Micro Center is an approved seller of all Apple products.<ref name=":0" /> The company has had Apple departments in all stores since 1982, and has included "Build Your Own PC" departments, and "Knowledge Bars" for service and support since 2007.<ref name=Miracle/><ref>{{cite news |last=Verdon |first=Joan |date=April 27, 2007 |title=Steady as she grows |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_multi=BE%7C&p_product=NJMNP&p_theme=njmnp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=%22Steady%20as%20she%20grows%22%20AND%20date(4/1/2007%20to%204/30/2007)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=4/1/2007%20to%204/30/2007)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22Steady%20as%20she%20grows%22)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |work=The Record |location=Hackensack, NJ |page=B01 |access-date=November 4, 2016 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
==Public profile== Micro Center was the first retailer in the United States to sell the DJI Mavic Pro drone, launching it by hosting a three-day demonstration in their Columbus store's parking lot which was open to the press and the public.<ref name="DJI Mavic Pro">{{cite news |date=November 18, 2016 |title=Micro Center First Retailer to Host DJI Mavic Pro Experience |url=http://www.newschannel10.com/story/33743673/micro-center-first-retailer-to-host-dji-mavic-pro-experience#.WDDiNs0GkMQ |work=News Channel 10 |access-date=December 12, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220110318/http://www.newschannel10.com/story/33743673/micro-center-first-retailer-to-host-dji-mavic-pro-experience#.WDDiNs0GkMQ |archive-date=December 20, 2016}}</ref>
In a 2015 interview, Micro Center CEO Rick Mershad described how their product line is changing: the STEM movement is driving students and adults to make their own creations, and Micro Center is focusing on Arduino projects and Raspberry Pi, which require more consultative selling.<ref>{{YouTube|id=MEZO-FuRrtQ|title=Adafruit Industries: Interview with Microcenter CEO Rick Mershad}}</ref>
===Media reception=== thumb|Micro Center Keyboard Aisle in Vienna, Virginia Joan Verdon of ''The Record'' noted that meeting customer's needs with a high level of service and skilled salespeople are Micro Center's "claim to fame". She also quoted Doug Olenick, editor at ''TWICE'', a major consumer electronics trade publication, who said that the store's salespeople, compared to others in the industry, are extremely well trained.<ref name=Verdon_2007/>
In 2021, the store started to offer a free solid-state drive to new customers, but ''Storage Review'' was not impressed, concluding "it's free, but it's still not worth it". More generally, they noted that: "Micro Center's Inland brand is to tech what Amazon's dozens of brands are to toilet paper, shampoo, and such."<ref>{{cite news |last=Beeler |first=Brian |date=August 24, 2021 |title=How Good is Micro Center's Free SSD? |url=https://www.storagereview.com/review/how-good-is-micro-centers-free-ssd |work=StorageReview.com |access-date=October 6, 2021}}</ref>
==Awards and rankings== In 2014, Micro Center was ranked 93rd on a list of the 100 hottest retailers in the United States compiled by the National Retail Federation.<ref>{{cite news |last=Malone |first=JD |date=August 2, 2014 |title=Columbus companies among top retailers |url=http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2014/08/02/columbus-companies-among-top-retailers.html |work=The Columbus Dispatch |access-date=November 2, 2016}}</ref>
In 2015, the industry trade journal ''Dealerscope'' ranked it as the 18th largest consumer electronics retailer in the United States and Canada.<ref name="Dealerscope101">{{cite journal |last=Spinale |first=Laura |date=2015 |title=Top 101 CE Retailers: Retailers Post Modest Increases in a Turbulent Marketplace |url=http://www.dealerscope.com/item/dealerscope-top-101-retailers-2015/ |journal=Dealerscope |publisher=North American Publishing Co. |access-date=October 29, 2016}}</ref>
In 2016, ''Forbes'' magazine ranked it 195th among America's largest private companies.<ref name="Forbes_2016">{{cite web |title=Micro Electronics on the Forbes America's Largest Private Companies List |url=https://www.forbes.com/companies/micro-electronics/ |work=Forbes |access-date=October 29, 2016}}</ref>
In October 2016, Micro Center stores won first and second prizes in Intel's annual "Score with Intel Core" competition, and donated their prize money to local schools.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 11, 2016 |title=Micro Center to Present $45,000 in Donations from Intel to Local Schools |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/micro-center-to-present-45000-in-donations-from-intel-to-local-schools-300342608.html |work=www.prnewswire.com |access-date=November 2, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=McGowan |first=Mary Kate |date=October 24, 2016 |title=Computer store to donate $10,000 to Powers Ferry Elementary |url=http://www.mdjonline.com/news/computer-store-to-donate-to-powers-ferry-elementary/article_8dbb6086-9a52-11e6-be03-67883cd3e3de.html |work=Marietta Daily Journal |access-date=November 2, 2016}}</ref> In 2019, Micro Center stores won first and third prizes, making two more prize money donations to local schools.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brubaker |first=Paul |title=Intel, Micro Center Bolster District's One-to-One Device Initiative with Donation of $25,000 to Buy 40 Dell Chromebooks |url=http://www.paterson.k12.nj.us/news/19-20/11122019-chromebooks.pdf |publisher=Paterson Public Schools |access-date=March 29, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Score with Intel Core |url=https://www.emufsd.us/news/article.aspx?id=94399 |publisher=East Meadow School District |access-date=March 29, 2020}}</ref>
== See also == According to the American business research company Hoover's, the major competitors to Micro Center's parent company Micro Electronics are:<ref name=Hoovers>{{cite web |title=Company Profile - Micro Electronics Inc. |url=http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.micro_electronics_inc.ac90cb8bb5681877.html |publisher=Hoover's (a subsidiary of Dun and Bradstreet) |access-date=November 3, 2016}}</ref> * Best Buy * PC Connection * Amazon.com
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://www.microcenter.com}}
Category:Consumer electronics retailers of the United States Category:Online retailers of the United States Category:Computer companies of the United States Category:Home computer hardware companies Category:American companies established in 1979 Category:Computer companies established in 1979 Category:Computer hardware companies Category:Electronics companies established in 1979 Category:Retail companies established in 1979 Category:1979 establishments in Ohio Category:Retail companies based in Ohio Category:Privately held companies based in Ohio Category:Companies based in Franklin County, Ohio Category:Companies based in the Columbus metropolitan area, Ohio