Herman Miller has launched a Black Friday sale that takes 25% off everything on its site, with no discount code required. Shoppers pick a chair and head to checkout.
The three chairs the offer highlights show how a flat percentage plays out in dollars:
- Mirra 2: $1,915 down to $1,436.25, a saving of $478.75
- Sayl: $1,275 down to $956.25, a saving of $318.75
- Aeron: $2,305 down to $1,728.75, a saving of $576.25
The sale copy adds a few specifics. Aeron has sold nine million units and comes in sizes A, B and C, and recent testing found the largest size supports users up to 400 lbs. Sayl is up to 73% recyclable at the end of its life, according to Herman Miller. Mirra 2 comes with a choice of the Butterfly Back mesh or the TriFlex back. Most of the company's products carry a 12-year warranty.
A uniform discount means the most expensive chair gets the biggest cut in dollars, but it is still the most expensive chair. The better yardstick is the warranty. Spread over 12 years, the sale Aeron works out to about $144 a year, Mirra 2 to about $120, and Sayl to about $80. A warranty covers defects, not how long a chair feels good to sit in, so that is a floor for the cost-per-year argument rather than proof of it. The "worth every penny" line is the sale copy's pitch, and the math only helps if you keep the chair that long.
The same copy notes that Herman Miller regularly runs live offers. A 25% sitewide cut is a solid price, but a buyer without a deadline can watch for the next one and compare it with this.