Micro Center

Micro Center is a privately held American retail chain focused on computers, computer components, consumer electronics, peripherals, software, and technology services. The company is headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, and operates stores in the United States together with an e-commerce business. Its retail model combines a broad in-store assortment with specialist advice, technical support, build-your-own-PC services, and store pickup for online orders. The business was established in Columbus, Ohio, in 1979 by John Baker and Bill Bayne, former Radio Shack employees. The original store occupied a small storefront in the Lane Avenue Shopping Center in Upper Arlington, near Ohio State University and Battelle Memorial Institute. That location gave the young retailer access to students, researchers, technically skilled customers, and a labor pool familiar with computers. Micro Center reached almost $30 million in first-year sales, according to the company's historical account cited by Wikipedia. From its early years, Micro Center differentiated itself from general electronics retailers through computer specialization and knowledgeable staff. The chain has sold Apple products since 1982 and later developed dedicated Build Your Own PC departments and Knowledge Bars for technical assistance and service. Stores can be substantially larger than the original location and carry products across hundreds of categories, including processors, graphics cards, motherboards, memory, storage, networking equipment, displays, laptops, desktops, printers, cameras, gaming products, maker hardware, cables, and other accessories. The company also sells products under private-label brands, including Inland. Micro Center began expanding beyond Ohio during the 1990s. It entered Silicon Valley in 1997 with a store in Santa Clara, where it competed with the then-dominant Fry's Electronics by emphasizing employee expertise, pay, and customer service. That location closed in 2012 after the company could not extend its lease. Micro Center later returned to Santa Clara in May 2025, opening in a former Bed Bath & Beyond site after Fry's Electronics had left the regional market. The retailer expanded in the New York metropolitan area in January 2014 with stores in Brooklyn and Queens. By May 2025, it had 29 stores in 19 states. A Phoenix store opened on November 7, 2025, bringing the reported total to 30 stores in 20 states. Because store counts can change, the company's official store locator is the best source for its current footprint. Micro Center has also developed services intended to connect digital ordering with physical retail. In 2009 it introduced an expedited online-order pickup service promoted as 18-minute pickup. Its stores support hands-on PC building, repairs, technical consultation, and product demonstrations. The company was the first U.S. retailer to sell DJI's Mavic Pro drone and promoted the launch with a public demonstration at its Columbus-area store. The chain's customer base includes PC enthusiasts, gamers, do-it-yourself builders, students, educators, small businesses, makers, and consumers seeking advice on complex technology purchases. Its later emphasis on Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and other maker products reflects the expansion of STEM education and hobbyist electronics. Trade and business coverage has frequently associated Micro Center with trained salespeople and high-touch service. The company remains private and is a subsidiary of Micro Electronics, Inc., rather than a publicly traded retailer.

Micro Center began in 1979 in Columbus, Ohio, founded by John Baker and Bill Bayne, who had previously worked for Radio Shack. The first shop was a roughly 900-square-foot storefront in the Lane Avenue Shopping Center in Upper Arlington. Its location near Ohio State University and Battelle Memorial Institute helped the retailer attract customers with technical interests and employees who understood emerging personal-computer products. The company reportedly approached its first year with an ambitious $30 million sales target and finished close to that figure. The chain developed a specialist identity rather than operating as a conventional department-store electronics seller. Its assortment centered on computers, components, software, accessories, and related services, while its employees were expected to help customers select and install technically complex products. Micro Center began carrying Apple products in all of its stores in 1982. It subsequently added Build Your Own PC departments and Knowledge Bars, reinforcing its appeal to hobbyists and customers who wanted advice or assistance beyond a simple transaction. Expansion outside Ohio accelerated in the 1990s. In autumn 1997, Micro Center opened a Santa Clara, California, store and entered Silicon Valley, a region with a dense population of technology workers and enthusiasts. The company competed against Fry's Electronics, then a major California computer retailer, by stressing knowledgeable staff, employee compensation, and customer service. The Santa Clara site eventually closed on July 23, 2012, after lease-extension negotiations failed. Micro Center returned to the area on May 30, 2025, with a new Santa Clara store in a former Bed Bath & Beyond location. The reopening occurred after Fry's had shut down its chain in 2021 and was described as restoring a large-format technology retailer to Silicon Valley. In January 2014, Micro Center broadened its New York presence with stores in Brooklyn and Queens. The business also invested in a connection between its online and physical channels. In 2009 it introduced an expedited pickup program for web orders, advertised as allowing customers to collect merchandise in approximately 18 minutes. Stores can stock tens of thousands of products across hundreds of categories, spanning major technology brands and Micro Center's own labels. The company has continued to target do-it-yourself computer builders, gamers, makers, students, educators, and small businesses. Its product strategy has included Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and other maker-oriented goods associated with STEM learning and personal fabrication. In a 2015 interview, chief executive Rick Mershad described the movement toward projects that customers build themselves and the need for more consultative retail selling. Micro Center also gained attention by becoming the first U.S. retailer to sell DJI's Mavic Pro, using a multi-day demonstration to introduce the drone to the public and press. Trade coverage has commonly identified skilled employees and service quality as central to the company's reputation. Micro Center has received industry recognition, including a 2014 National Retail Federation ranking among the 100 hottest U.S. retailers, a 2015 Dealerscope ranking as the 18th-largest consumer-electronics retailer in the United States and Canada, and a 2016 Forbes ranking among America's largest private companies. Individual stores won Intel retail competitions in 2016 and 2019 and donated associated prize money to local schools. As of the cited 2025 information, Micro Center is a subsidiary of privately held Micro Electronics, Inc., headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, with 30 stores in 20 states after the Phoenix opening.

1. 2025Micro Center returns to Santa Clara

   A new Santa Clara store opens on May 30, 2025, at a different site from the former location.

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2. 2025Phoenix becomes the thirtieth store

   The company opens a Phoenix store on November 7, 2025, bringing the reported network to 30 stores in 20 states.

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3. 2019Stores again win Intel competition prizes

   Micro Center locations receive first- and third-place awards and again direct prize money to schools.

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4. 2016Stores win Intel retail competition prizes

   Micro Center stores take first and second place in Intel's Score with Intel Core competition and donate prize money to local schools.

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5. 2014Brooklyn and Queens stores open

   Micro Center expands its New York City-area presence with locations in Brooklyn and Queens.

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6. 2012Santa Clara store closes

   Micro Center closes its only Silicon Valley store after failing to extend the property lease.

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7. 2009Expedited store pickup is introduced

   The retailer develops an online-order pickup service promoted as 18-minute pickup.

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8. 2007Build Your Own PC and Knowledge Bar services expand

   Micro Center adds or formalizes in-store PC-building departments and Knowledge Bars for technical assistance.

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9. 1997Entry into Silicon Valley

   The company opens a Santa Clara store and competes in California with Fry's Electronics.

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10. 1982Apple departments become part of the store format

    Micro Center begins selling Apple products and later maintains Apple departments across its store network.

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11. 1979Micro Center is founded in Ohio

    John Baker and Bill Bayne establish the computer retail business in Columbus, Ohio, opening its first store in Upper Arlington.

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A specialist technology retailer emphasizing broad computer-hardware selection, knowledgeable staff, hands-on PC building, technical support, and value for do-it-yourself builders and enthusiasts.

• Build Your Own PCComputer components and services2007

  Micro Center's Build Your Own PC offering serves customers selecting individual components such as processors, motherboards, memory, storage, graphics cards, cases, cooling systems, and power supplies. The format supports do-it-yourself builders as well as customers seeking assistance with component compatibility, assembly, upgrades, and troubleshooting.

• InlandPrivate-label computer hardware and accessories

  Inland is one of Micro Center's own technology brands. Its assortment has included storage, memory, peripherals, cables, and other computer-related products. The label gives the retailer a private-brand presence alongside products from major manufacturers and is particularly visible in the PC component and accessory categories.

• Apple productsConsumer electronics1982

  Micro Center has sold Apple products since 1982 and has maintained Apple departments in its stores. The assortment is part of the retailer's broader computer and consumer-electronics proposition, complementing its extensive Windows PC, component, accessory, and service business.

• Maker and STEM electronicsMaker hardware and educational technology

  Micro Center carries products associated with hands-on electronics and STEM projects, including Arduino and Raspberry Pi equipment. These products support education, prototyping, coding, robotics, and hobbyist experimentation, and require more explanatory, consultative selling than many conventional consumer-electronics purchases.

• DJI Mavic ProConsumer drone

  Micro Center was reported as the first U.S. retailer to sell DJI's Mavic Pro. The launch was accompanied by a three-day demonstration at a Columbus-area store, allowing customers and members of the press to see the drone in operation.

• 2019Score with Intel Core

  United States

  Micro Center again entered Intel's retail competition, with participating stores receiving first- and third-place awards.

  Outcome. The stores donated the associated prize money to local schools.

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• 2016Score with Intel Core

  United States

  Micro Center stores participated in Intel's annual Score with Intel Core retail competition. Two stores won first and second place, providing the company with prize money linked to store performance.

  Outcome. The prize money was donated to local schools.

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• DJI Mavic Pro launch demonstration

  United States

  Micro Center supported its introduction of DJI's Mavic Pro with a three-day outdoor demonstration at a Columbus-area store, open to the press and the public.

  Outcome. The event accompanied Micro Center's position as the first U.S. retailer reported to sell the product.

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• 2025Return to Silicon ValleyStrategy

  The closure of Fry's Electronics in 2021 left fewer large-format electronics retailers in the Silicon Valley area.

  What changed. Micro Center opened a new Santa Clara location on May 30, 2025, in a former Bed Bath & Beyond property.

  Aftermath. The reopening restored Micro Center's physical presence in the region and was welcomed as filling a local electronics-retail gap.

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• 2012Exit the original Santa Clara locationStrategy

  Micro Center's lease for its Silicon Valley store was approaching expiration and the company could not negotiate a further extension.

  What changed. The retailer closed the Santa Clara store on July 23, 2012.

  Aftermath. Micro Center later re-entered the market with a new Santa Clara store in 2025.

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• 2009Connect online ordering with rapid store pickupStrategy

  Micro Center sought to combine the convenience of web ordering with access to inventory held in its physical stores.

  What changed. It developed a service promoted as 18-minute pickup for customers ordering merchandise online.

  Aftermath. The service became part of the chain's omnichannel retail proposition.

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• 2025Micro Center opens its first Santa Clara store since 2012 closure

  Micro Center returned to Santa Clara on May 30, 2025, opening a new store at a different location formerly occupied by Bed Bath & Beyond.

  OtherProduct launch
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• 2025Micro Center reaches 30-store footprint with Phoenix opening

  The company opened a Phoenix, Arizona, store on November 7, 2025, according to the cited company history.

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• 2014Micro Center expands in New York City

  The company opened stores in Brooklyn and Queens in January 2014.

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• 2012Micro Center closes its original Silicon Valley store

  The Santa Clara store closed on July 23, 2012, after Micro Center was unable to negotiate a further lease extension.

  Other
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• 2009Micro Center introduces expedited online order pickup

  The retailer developed an online-to-store service promoted as 18-minute pickup for customers ordering merchandise through its website.

  Product launch
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• Micro Center launches DJI Mavic Pro retail demonstration

  Micro Center became the first U.S. retailer to sell DJI's Mavic Pro and supported the launch with a three-day public and press demonstration at its Columbus-area store.

  Product launchCampaign
  Source

1. Micro Center
2. Micro Center official website