The release resulted in altercations, arrests, and temporary store closures as customers competed for the $USD400 ($AUD559) products. Overcrowding, pushing, and aggressive behaviour were reported in Dubai, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, London, and other cities, leading to police and security interventions.
Near Paris, police reportedly used tear gas outside a Swatch store after a crowd of about 300 people gathered. In New York, police used pepper spray at Roosevelt Field Mall and made at least one arrest outside a Swatch store in Manhattan. In Austin, Texas, three individuals were arrested for trespassing at The Domain mall after hundreds gathered.
"To ensure the safety of both our customers and our staff in Swatch stores, we kindly ask you not to rush to our stores in large numbers to acquire this product," the company said in a social media post.
The chaos surrounding the launch of this collection is reminiscent of the 2022 release of the MoonSwatch, and critics have suggested that Swatch either failed to learn from that experience or was willing to recreate those conditions for media attention.
“The mishandling of the Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop launch is inexcusable because it was so predictable,” writes Rob Corder of WatchPro.
“Swatch knew, having seen the reaction to the first MoonSwatch in 2022, that this was going to be an event that drew far bigger crowds than they could serve in a day, even if they had supplied enough watches to each store. This was entirely avoidable.”
“Somebody could have been killed. Heads should roll at Swatch.”
The collection combines Swatch's mass-market appeal with Audemars Piguet, a leading Swiss luxury watch brand. It features eight Pop Art-inspired versions of the Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet's signature watch line, which typically starts at $USD15,000 ($AUD20,976).
The company stated that the collection will remain available in stores for several months; however, it will be unavailable online.
More reading
Making sense of the Omega x Swatch chaos
CEO concedes MoonSwatch madness could have been avoided
Swatch fires back at US President with watch mocking tariffs
Swatch issues apology for controversial marketing campaign
Tensions mounting on Swatch board in strategy dispute
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