BRING MICRO CENTER TO IOWA!!!

OutwardTomcat

To start out, there are virtually no dedicated electronics stores in the area anymore. With the demise of Radio Shack, Circuit City, and the like, there are little to no local businesses for electronic components, machines/materials/accessories for makers, quality selection of gaming PC components, or robotics. There are a few Best Buy locations in the area, but their selection of products at there physical locations is sparse, to say the least. The area is in dire need of a physical store like this for its flourishing maker community, professional community, and gaming community. For most of the hobbies I, and many others in the area, are interested in there is no other option than to order offline these products online. You cannot find electronic/robotic components, 3D Printers, Filament, 3D Resin, or a decent line up of quality PC parts at any local stores. Personally, I purchase all of these items online and would much rather walk into a store to browse and get exactly what I need that day. There are absolutely no businesses setup out here to support those needs and it seems like a no brainer that a company would come in to try and capture that market. I am honestly shocked it hasn't happened yet. I've seen many other posts on here begging for a location to be put in Iowa, but it appears the real estate team has not heard our pleas. So I'll say it louder for the people in the back. PLEASE BRING MICRO CENTER TO IOWA! There is a large community out here hungry for exactly the products you provide. I've seen others suggest Des Moines as a possible location, which is a great location. I'd also like to purpose the Iowa City or Cedar Rapids area. Going off of population estimates, Iowa City and its surrounding area has a similar population within a 50 mile radius as Des Moines (approx. 710,000 vs 840,000). Even though Des Moines does have a larger population, when looking at the other 3 closest Micro Center locations (Chicago, Bloomington, and Kansas City) the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City area falls right in the middle of all 3 on the map. Des Moines is more central for Iowans, but I think a Cedar Rapids or Iowa City location would help draw more people from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Kansas who otherwise live too far away from the other locations. Des Moines just feels a little too centralized in Iowa to draw people from other states, in my opinion. As for the communities out here, there are plenty of makers, gamers, and businesses that desire a physical store like Micro Center. There is the University of Iowa, Kirkwood Community College, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (consistently ranked top 10 nationally in research and innovation), BAE Systems, Collins Aerospace (now part of Raytheon), John Deere, Quaker Oats, P&G, Kinze, Eaton, Square D, and many other companies that bring highly technical people to the area who have no other choice than to go online to shop for any of their work or hobby related technical needs. I am begging for someone on the real estate team to just entertain the idea and look into this untapped market in our area. I know there are plenty of people here that would feel the same way. Thank you for your time and consideration.