Iconic watchmaker Swatch was forced to close its stores in the UK and in some cities in Europe and the US last weekend, after it released a limited-edition watch.
There were all-night queues… that turned into full-blown brawls of shoving and abuse, as shoppers grew tired of waiting and stock began drastically diminishing.
If you’re a younger Gen X like I am, you might have been wondering what the big deal was.
I mean, I loved a Swatch watch in my time… but hundreds-strong crowds brawling?
I vividly recall dedicating in the 1990s constantly harassing my mother for the latest band, or dial, or entire watch. There was nothing cooler to wear on your wrist (to show off to your mates and make your sisters hate you).
But as social media became flooded with unbelievable footage on the weekend, I was certainly wondering, “People are fighting over Swatch watches? Did I accidentally drive a DeLorean?” (Another Gen X icon reference IYKYK.)
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What happened with the Royal Pop timepieces by Swatch?
Swatch announced a collaboration with the luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet – and people lost it on release day.
Police – and police dogs – had to attend to control huge crowds at stores in Manchester, Cardiff, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield, in the UK, The Guardian UK reports.
In several French cities, queues of hundreds of people formed overnight from Friday to Saturday.
A police source told The Guardian UK that officers had fired teargas to control a 300-strong crowd outside a Swatch shop in Paris, where a metal shutter and two security gates were damaged.
Swatch brawls went viral last week. Image: Instagram
In the Netherlands, police attended a shopping centre after a huge crowd waited at a store. The store did not open.
In New York, there was pushing and shoving at the opening of the Swatch store in Times Square, according to John McIntosh, who had been in the queue since Wednesday, The Guardian UK reports.
“It was like a mosh pit,” he said.
McIntosh admitted he had hoped to purchase one of the special watches – sold in store for bout $400 – “to resell immediately” at a mark-up.
On Sunday the watches were listed for sale on eBay by UK sellers for up to £3,000. Audemars Piguet watches usually cost more than £15,000.
Swatch later issued at statement to customers.
“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 Royal Pop collection will remain available for several months. In some countries, queues of more than 50 people cannot be accepted, and sales may need to be paused.”
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How is a cult status maintained over decades?
Leigh Lavery, General Manager, The Growth Distillery, spoke to Mediaweek about iconic products with longevity.
Mediaweek: What has kept Swatch a banging brand for decades – or, for that matter, any other brand of cult items?
Leigh Lavery: Swatch is a prime global example of leveraging passions, such as art, sport, music, travel and even breakdancing not to mention actual watch lovers themselves. Through collaborations with a wide variety of artists and creators, these partnerships continually and seamlessly introduce new fans to the brand.
The kicker for Swatch is that they have been doing this for decades, resulting in the compounding benefit of Gen X’s continued ongoing obsession with the brand, plus continual new waves of demand from Millennials and now Gen Z and even Alpha.
MW: Is it the ability to utilise social media, or something more – was the work largely done decades ago?
LL: I personally think it is less about channel selection, and more about partner and passion selection. Simply embracing that humans do have a variety of things that float our boat beyond work and family has paid divedends for decades for Swatch.
The last piece which I believe adds to this perfect storm of demand is consumers embracing and valuing the scarcity of these timeless timepieces. The monetary element is clearly fuelled by this price premium fans put on their passions, and confidence in the future ongoing monetary value. These are truly investments.