Re: MicroCenter

On Mon, Apr 28, 2014 at 8:02 AM, Paul Nevai <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi Dennis:
>
> On 04/25/2014, 20:45, dmccunney wrote:
>> There's a midwest computer retail chain called Micro Center which is
>> expanding.
>
> MicroCenter is from my hometown, Columbus, and the very first store
> they opened was in my "homesuburb" Upper Arlington. Well, the store
> moved later to another nearby location and it is now a Whole Foods Market.
>
> It is a  great company with great customer service and
> they usually have prices that are as good as any on the internet.
> Still, I buy most of my electronics from amazon.com (because it is
> easier to click than to drive 3 miles plus, as many of you in the US
> know, buying amazon.com giftcards from Giant Eagle leads to cheaper
> gas(oline) prices). Before the internet, I bought almost all my gadgets
> from them.

I buy online, too, though not generally from Amazon.

The big win for me is that the Micro Center in Brooklyn is a
"warehouse" store that stocks pretty much everything and is a hop,
skip, and jump on the subway from where I am.  I can go get something
and bring it home the *same day*.  There are enough occasions where I
need a piece of gear *now*, and not several days later after shipping,
to make having a comprehensive supplier like that a boon.

> I found this on the internet: Micro Center, Computers & Electronics, has
> grown from a small store in Columbus, Ohio in 1979, to 25 regional
> locations nationwide today.

Yep.  They seem to be exercising due caution in expanding.  The two
locations in NYC, for example, are in Brooklyn and Queens, where rents
are a lot closer to reasonable than in Manhattan.  The Computerland
location was in midtown Manhattan, and no surprise they closed their
doors.  The overhead was simply too great.

The problem with selling consumer electronics is that today's must
have product that the manufacturer can't make fast enough and sells
for high prices with high margins is tomorrow's commodity where
competition is on price.  (That's basically what happened to Palm.)
The challenge for the retailer is competing on price while still
making money.  To do it, you need volume.  You make pennies on a
dollar, so you want to take in as may dollars to make pennies on as
possible.

A manager I spoke to briefly while there indicated they were on track
thus far and that the promotion that got me there was working.  He
said they hadn't been publicizing hard, and were getting good results
from word of mouth,

A friend in Boston said they had an outlet near him, and he was glad
he bought his daughter's first Mac and a service contract from them.
The Apple Store's service and support was apparently laughable, and
daughter managed to trash hers and need repair within four days.

> All=my=best, Paul
______
Dennis
https://plus.google.com/u/0/105128793974319004519