Bloomberg’s annual Billy index shows that the Swedish furniture chain’s signature Billy bookcase costs more in the Dominican Republic than anywhere else. The Billy bookcase costs 34.95 euros (US$46.48) in Slovakia and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic topped the list, which is based on the 2014 catalogue on Ikea’s website, with a price of 3,995 pesos (US$94.72). The bookshelf costs US$59.99 in the United States and 349 yuan (US$57) in China.
The Billy index calculates the cost across 43 countries of Ikea’s white bookcase that is 202cm (79.5 inches) high, 80cm wide and 28cm deep. Prices were collected on 15 October and converted to US dollars at the average exchange rate over the past 30 days.
For 2014, the average cost globally of the bookcase is US$58.93, little changed from US$59.35 in the 2013 catalogue.
In local currency, the bookcase’s price only changed in eight countries. It was cut in the Dominican Republic and parts of Australia and increased in Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Poland and the Netherlands, which saw the biggest percentage change at 17%.
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