Is Lake Charles, Louisiana Ready For An IKEA Store?

Should Lake Charles, LA get an IKEA? That would be dope if you asked me! Why not? We got plenty of room for one in terms of property big enough to build one of their stores here. Lake Charles is connected to at least five major cities, Houston, Beaumont, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans, via one of the world's most traveled interstates, I-10.

Having an IKEA would add hella job opportunities to the area with an average employee salary of $17.29 to $23.89 an hour. The way I see it, there are several reasons why the world's largest furniture retailer would do well in Southwest Louisiana. Here are three main reasons:

1.) IKEA would bring a major boost to the economy. Everyone would come here because it would be the first location in the entire state! There is a Pick-Up location in New Orleans. The closest store is in Houston so Lake Charles would make a nice mid-point.

2.) Lake Charles has acres of open land, especially Downtown near I-10. The store would be visible from the interstate and easily accessible. IKEA would also draw travelers Downtown, who otherwise wouldn't have stopped, to shop, dine and explore the city's boardwalk, Lakefront, and beyond.

3.) Having the world's largest furniture retailer in Lake Charles and the only one in the state helps Downtown development. A brand as big as IKEA would make it easier to market other companies to set up shop along the I-10 corridor. Thus, replacing the overgrown brush on vacant lots and abandoned truck stops properties with new restaurant chains, storefronts, and shops.

Those are my top three reasons Lake Charles, LA, should get an IKEA store. Whether this could actually happen is anyone's guess. But it would be cool! What do you think?

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT IKEA -

• Ingvar Kamprad opened the first IKEA store in 1943 as a one-man mail-order company in rural Sweden.
• IKEA has 62 markets globally and 70 store locations in America.
• Since 2008 it has been the world's largest furniture retailer.
• The average IKEA store is 300,000 square feet, the equivalent of five football fields.
• The smallest IKEA store is 115,000 in New York, and the biggest IKEA store is in the Philippines and covers more than 700,000 square feet.