AUBURN – When Darrin Porter had a customer travel all the way from Lewiston-Auburn to the Best Buy store in Bangor to buy a GPS system, he knew the electronics mega-retailer needed an L-A store.

Today, they get one.

Best Buy opens its fourth Maine store at Mount Auburn Plaza this morning, bringing thousands of computers, DVDs, video games, TVs, audio systems and appliances to its newest location. Porter, who is general manager at the new store, said Best Buy’s decision to open in Auburn was spurred primarily by customer demand.

“Basically customers were telling us they needed it. … They were shopping at the Bangor and Portland stores,” he said. “The whole Auburn-Lewiston area is growing in population, and it didn’t make sense to have customers driving 70 miles to one store.”

The 20,000-square-foot store was designed to serve smaller markets, versus the company’s standard 45,000-square-foot model. The smaller prototype was launched in 2003 to expand the retailer’s reach into markets with fewer than 100,000 people.

But Porter said the smaller scale doesn’t mean area shoppers have any less choice.

“Our customers will still have access to all the products Best Buy offers,” Porter said.

To celebrate its grand opening, employees will offer customers discounts through the weekend. A formal ribbon-cutting is planned for 9:45 a.m. Friday, when a check for $10,000 will be presented to the local Boys and Girls Club. Then the doors swoosh open.

Customers will be surrounded by gray-and-blue decor with 18-foot ceilings, curvy black counters and silver suspension lights that give the store its high-tech feel. Price tags, like the company’s logo, are bright yellow and easy to read.

Porter said the new store features a special home theater display area, which mimics a customer’s living room, where they can test drive flat-screen TVs, audio systems and other goods.

Another characteristic that sets the store apart is its noncommissioned staff, which means a no-pressure sales approach.

“We want shopping here to be an outstanding experience for our customers,” Porter said. “We want to see them fulfill their needs rather than what a company wants to sell.”

The store also offers Best Buy’s Geek Squad, a band of high-tech masters who can set up electronic networks and fix computers at a customer’s home or business 24/7. Staff can also go to customers’ home, survey what equipment they have, make recommendations for customizing, fill an order list and then install it.

“We try to serve a variety of needs,” Porter said.

That includes a commitment to the community, he said. Schools can apply online for up to $2,500 gift cards for local teachers. The company also partners with United Way in a Tag Award program. For employees who volunteer 40 hours to a local charity, Best Buy will donate $1,000 to the same organization.

“On a corporate level, we give millions back to the community,” Porter said.

The company’s income for the past 12 months was $1.26 billion, much healthier than the retail electronics industry average of $863 million. For the first 10 months of fiscal 2007, Best Buy reported revenues of $29.6 billion.

Porter added that the store had no problem filling its 75 staff positions. Two days before the grand opening, Best Buy employees were swarming in their bright blue polo shirts, setting up displays and getting training on the multiple products they offer.

“People are excited,” Porter said. “They can’t wait for the doors to open.”

What: Best Buy

Where: Mount Auburn Plaza, Auburn

Phone: 795-8810

Hours: Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.