Opening a PC part and build bar store. Need feedback

[amnesia]

Hey there everyone. 

I'm in the process of opening the first ever pc part and build bar in my country (Qatar).

 

My goal has been to Kickstart the pc gaming market here and to educate the market too. 

 

I'll set up a build bar area where people can grab parts, head on back and then assemble their pcs. The tools and area is a free access area too (because sometimes you don't need to buy all the tools). 

 

So I've managed to sort out deals with some great companies like EK, Deep cool, nzxt, geil, GPd, cable mods, Zowie, zotac, Arctic, Tecware, Razer, silicon power, and others. 

Still trying to get brands like msi, corsair and gigabyte but it's been hard to get good prices. 

 

The question I have is, what do you think I can do in order to make sure the spot is kick ass. 

 

I do really want this to be a hang out spot for enthusiasts. 

 

I've put tablets in the build bar area so people can see tutorials. Worked with RandomFrankP to put together cool lists of items like "what you need if you're getting into streaming" etc... 

 

On the second floor I've even set up a bar area where you can talk about what you're trying to achieve. Also the tables are modular so maybe once a month have special Lan parties or tournaments. 

 

What brands do you think are must haves? 

What items do you think I should stock? 

What concerns  or risks do you think I should be prepared for?

If you could have your "dream" pc part store, what would you want it to be like?

 

Attached are a couple of pics of the joint. 

 

 

Note: This isn't meant to be an ad, I imagine most people don't even life in Qatar and I just really want your advice. 

 

 

[lewdicrous]

From what I can tell, there are PC enthusiasts in the Middle-East, but they don't seem to be very vocal. You might get the audience you want if you manage to advertise to them.

Maybe try the r/qatar subreddit or any other subreddit related to Middle-Eastern countries. (gaming oriented if you can find any)

 

Best of luck!

[wasab]

Isnt quatar like 80% foreginers and 20% native? You may want to cater to the foregin workers there. 

[Guest]

I hope the alcohol doesn’t spill on the computers. 

 

Id have regular gaming competitions with entry fees. If you have a local card game shop, learn how magic does their events & do something like that.

 

It’ll be one heck of a power bill. Idk how it’ll work but I hope it does. I don’t see it but if you got those nice game companies sponsoring you & partnering, you must have one heck of a business plan or region. 

Edit:

asian gaming cafe may help too. Sell food & rent out computers & game consoles. Yeah you want to be PC but not everyone is PC. An Xbox and PS4 or 2 may be good. Smash bros tournaments are popular in the USA so a switch couldn’t hurt. Get the game cube adaptor as everyone uses GameCube controllers. 

[Jtalk4456]

gotta say dude, it looks awesome, and it sounds great! My biggest thoughts for parts are having a good stock of gpu's ssd's and keyboard/mice/monitors. People won't always be coming for a whole system, they might just need that one piece. and having an assembly area is a great idea! My thoughts so far are making sure you have good security and insurance, offering ifixit tool kits, and having somebody there who can do basic troubleshooting/repair. on top of gaming tournaments, you can have a free pc building class once in a while. 

Having worked pretty igh in a retail parts place, @LinusTech might have some more valuable insight here.

 

oh and don't forget to have all monitors in a ltt youtube playlist constantly XD

[amnesia]

I really appreciate all these comments and feedback! 

I really do want to do something special. Even set up screens and tablets where people can watch LTT videos to also learn. 

 

@wasab, yeah that's rught! Our store will be catering to all 

 

@fpo absolutely. We partnered up with virtuocity which just opened today which will be the regions biggest gaming arena. 

 

Never thought about card games too. You think it would be relevant of the place is focused on pc?

 

@jtalk thanks! Yes indeed. Insurance and security is covered. The good thing is though that the crime rate in Qatar is almost 0. 

 

Love the idea of a PC build class! 

Maybe even have @LinusTech come on down if he's up to this type of stuff. Would make a great episode of gaming in the middle east. 

Not only does it have a huge gaming arena but also some giant tournaments coming real soon. 

 

https://www.iloveqatar.net/news/sports/aspire-zone-to-launch-online-gaming-tournament-with-2-3-billion-players

 

 

[Acid Panda]

best of luck to you.

[Gale]

On 12/25/2018 at 2:09 PM, amnesia said:

The question I have is, what do you think I can do in order to make sure the spot is kick ass. 

You gotta sell some Fortnite V-Bucks.

On 12/25/2018 at 2:09 PM, amnesia said:

I've put tablets in the build bar area so people can see tutorials.

Seriously though, instead of doing that, why don't you offer a class every week about the basics? They can be free classes to draw people in.