Price comparison: An Aeron office chair

If you are an expatriate already working in Asia or a business traveler coming to Asia to set up your office, you may decide to purchase a very familiar piece of office furniture used by executives: the Aeron office chair. In case you are not familiar with them, Aeron office chairs are a product of Herman Miller and are designed to be completely adjustable and ergonomically correct. Hence, they are considered to be extremely comfortable (moreover, due to their exclusivity and cost, they had become a symbol of the dot-com era in the late 1990s).

The Asian Wall Street Journal’s weekly Arbitrage column has recently conducted a survey of prices for Aeron office chairs in several cities around the Asia-Pacific region. The price survey gives a good idea as to just how exclusive Aeron office chairs continue to be. However, the good news is that if you are coming from Europe, you will largely find the Aeron office chair to be more affordable in the Asia Pacific region than back home.

Price Comparison*

Bangkok	49,000 Baht	US$1,441
Tokyo	133,053 Yen	US$1,412
Seoul	1.7 Million Won	US$1,373
Kuala Lumpur	4,750 Ringgit	US$1,348
Singapore	S$1,759	US$1,221
Sydney	A$1,449	US$1,195
Shanghai	8,000 Yuan	US$1,171
Hong Kong	HK$8,345	US$1,077
Jakarta	-	US$900

*Prices are for the basic Lumbar model that have a graphite wheel base and are Size B. US$ prices are based upon exchange rates as of July 28, 2009.