Here we go again.
Four years after the Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch launch degenerated into global chaos – complete with fights breaking out among disgruntled customers, overnight queues and even police intervention – history is repeating itself almost tick for tock with yet another Swatch release.
This time, the catalyst for the mania is the May 16 launch of the Swatch Royal Pop timepieces, created in collaboration with high-end watchmaker Audemars Piguet (AP), whose actual watches typically start from around US$20,000.
While the Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms launch in 2023 also drew long queues, it was relatively less intense. Last week, the scenes that unfolded were predictably absurd. Around the world, shoppers camped outside Swatch stores for days. Queues spiralled out of control, people threw tantrums, skirmishes broke out and in some extreme cases, tear gas was fired to keep things under control.
And when the doors finally opened, customers sprinted towards the plastic watches as though their lives depended on it – that is if the shops even opened at all.
Stores around the world, including those in London, Dubai and even VivoCity in Singapore, had to shutter temporarily as they could not cope with the mad rush for these watches.
Naturally, all of this was documented from multiple angles and uploaded onto social media for the rest of the internet to gawk at. Except because this feels like a repeat of the MoonSwatch launch, nobody can pretend to be surprised.
It is a shame how quickly a playful collaboration tipped into predictable disorder, driven as much by crowd behaviour as by a brand seemingly unwilling to manage the very conditions it created. Here are five takeaways from the mess.
The first MoonSwatch frenzy in 2022 could perhaps be forgiven as an underestimation of demand for a crossover collaboration. It is plausible that the scale of interest caught Swatch off guard.
Presumably lessons could and should have been learned. Instead, chaos seemed to become part of the marketing strategy itself. It certainly is harder to justify this mismanagement of crowds the second time around. By now, the brand is fully aware of the frenzy its “limited drop” model triggers. It also most certainly has to know that there is a well-established playbook for managing high-demand retail events safely and effectively.
For instance, when high street brands such as H&M launch high-profile designer collaborations, they typically implement structured queue systems, give out numbered entry tickets and clearly cordon off zones to prevent congestion and queue-jumping. Staff are deployed to manage the crowds and basic provisions are often distributed to ensure order during long waits.
But in this instance, there appears to have been little visible effort to de-escalate tension or manage crowds, despite full awareness of how limited the initial drops of stock would be. Instead, the impression that onlookers get is that the brand seemed to be perfectly okay with letting the unruliness play out in real time, caught on footage that go viral.
Swatch’s Ion Orchard outlet on Saturday (May 16), during the launch of the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop pocket watch. (Photo: CNA/Baani Kaur)
It is only after the frenzy had boiled over to a fever pitch that the brand reacted with cursory store closures to disperse the crowds – and later blamed shopping centres for it.
To cynical observers, the old adage that no publicity is bad publicity certainly rings true.
This is no way to treat loyal customers and fans of the brand, especially when it would take relatively little effort on Swatch’s part to ensure a more orderly queueing experience. If there ever is a fourth hyped collection, Swatch must do right by their customers by making this experience of buying the timepiece less harrowing.
Speaking of hype, there is a lesson here for brands which have traditionally traded on values like craftsmanship, discretion and exclusivity. The hype cycle operates on almost the opposite logic by manufacturing desire through urgency and the promise of bragging rights.
The caseback of the watch is pad-printed with the Royal Pop logo. (Photo: Swatch)
Collaborations like this, along with other high-low tie-ups, are often framed as attempts to democratise luxury by introducing an otherwise unattainable label to a wider audience through a more accessible price point.
But the reality of this particular collaboration has turned out differently. This AP and Swatch partnership feels less like a celebration of horology and more like a parody of this rarefied craft. Based on the braggadocious social media posts of the few who managed to secure a Royal Pop, it appears many are merely chasing the feeling of having “won” access to this watch.
And while some may initially see the visibility generated from the launch as a success, it is also worth asking what are buyers being conditioned to value in the long term.
Do brands want customers driven by the dopamine rush of online flexing and opportunistic resellers capitalising on inflated resale listings – or genuine long-term advocates who care about a brand’s values, heritage and artistry? That kind of authentic appreciation is something that once lost, cannot be easily regained.
At first glance, a price point of around S$545 for a watch linked to a horology house known for five-figure timepieces may appear relatively accessible.
AP x Swatch Royal Pop in Ocho Negro. (Photo: Swatch)
AP x Swatch Royal Pop in Otg Roz. (Photo: Swatch)
AP x Swatch Royal Pop in Otto Rosso. (Photo: Swatch)
AP x Swatch Royal Pop in Lan Ba. (Photo: Swatch)
But this botched drop has actually traded on something even more valuable than money. The real cost of the Royal Pop is not financial, but a certain degree of self-inflicted humiliation. It is distinctly undignified to see masses of people scrambling over a product launch and acting like hooligans by pushing and shoving just to gain access to the timepiece.
What made the entire spectacle especially bleak was how willingly consumers reduced themselves just for this marketing stunt. And unfortunately for the product itself, the chaos has now become inseparable from the watch.
For anyone even vaguely aware of the launch hysteria, the Royal Pop is likely to evoke thoughts of the viral clips of scuffles, crowd surges and people losing all their composure. That association alone diminishes the appeal of the watch.
There is also an unsavoury by-product of these launches: flippers or scalpers. Judging by the speed at which resale listings appeared after the drop, with many marked up multiple times to around S$4,000, it is reasonable to assume that a significant percentage of the scrum was never made up of genuine buyers in the first place.
Deni, 24, from Myanmar started queuing at MBS on Friday, 2pm. Once he got one, he sold it off right away for an extra S$500. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
25-year-old student He Qiao Mu gave out bubble tea at the MBS queue in the hopes of getting someone to buy one for him. And he succeeded. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
That has changed the character of the queue itself. Once upon a time, lines for special launches were populated largely by enthusiasts and collectors, which made for a more orderly and cordial atmosphere as they were united by interest in the product, not the resale margin attached to it.
Today, the enthusiast has been pushed out, sometimes quite literally, by opportunistic resellers who now treat such launches as arbitrage.
And the hard truth is that scalping persists because enough consumers are willing to pay a high mark-up of retail prices just to avoid missing out. That is the uncomfortable reality at the heart of all of this – the resellers may contribute to the chaos, but it is the buyers who sustain it. Unfortunately, in this situation, it is often the most cynical participants, the resellers, who come out ahead.
There really is only one good way to put an end to this nonsense. Consumers have to accept some responsibility for being willing participants. As the saying goes: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
Lucky owner of the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop pocket watch at Swatch’s Marina Bay Sands outlet on Saturday (May 16). (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
A lucky owner of Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop pocket watch at Swatch's Ion Orchard outlet during the launch on Saturday (May 16). (Photo: CNA/Baani Kaur)
Just like how Swatch should really know better this time around, the same goes for the buyers.
It is now clear that these “limited” collaborations are not truly limited. MoonSwatch stock was repeatedly replenished, with subsequent drops and variations released over time. The same applies to the Royal Pop collection, which Swatch has already said will remain available for several months.
So instead of continuing to be manipulated by brands and scalpers who thrive on engineering a sense of scarcity and feeding the FOMO (fear of missing out), consumers could simply step back and wait for stock to be replenished. JOMO (the joy of missing out), would be far more revolutionary because it removes the very thing that is fanning the flames of this trainwreck: unbridled participation.
Without that, a designer collaboration reverts back to exactly what it was originally intended to be – a watch launch. How revolutionary.
Continue reading...
Four years after the Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch launch degenerated into global chaos – complete with fights breaking out among disgruntled customers, overnight queues and even police intervention – history is repeating itself almost tick for tock with yet another Swatch release.
This time, the catalyst for the mania is the May 16 launch of the Swatch Royal Pop timepieces, created in collaboration with high-end watchmaker Audemars Piguet (AP), whose actual watches typically start from around US$20,000.
While the Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms launch in 2023 also drew long queues, it was relatively less intense. Last week, the scenes that unfolded were predictably absurd. Around the world, shoppers camped outside Swatch stores for days. Queues spiralled out of control, people threw tantrums, skirmishes broke out and in some extreme cases, tear gas was fired to keep things under control.
And when the doors finally opened, customers sprinted towards the plastic watches as though their lives depended on it – that is if the shops even opened at all.
Stores around the world, including those in London, Dubai and even VivoCity in Singapore, had to shutter temporarily as they could not cope with the mad rush for these watches.
Naturally, all of this was documented from multiple angles and uploaded onto social media for the rest of the internet to gawk at. Except because this feels like a repeat of the MoonSwatch launch, nobody can pretend to be surprised.
It is a shame how quickly a playful collaboration tipped into predictable disorder, driven as much by crowd behaviour as by a brand seemingly unwilling to manage the very conditions it created. Here are five takeaways from the mess.
1. SWATCH COULD EASILY HAVE DONE BETTER
The first MoonSwatch frenzy in 2022 could perhaps be forgiven as an underestimation of demand for a crossover collaboration. It is plausible that the scale of interest caught Swatch off guard.
Presumably lessons could and should have been learned. Instead, chaos seemed to become part of the marketing strategy itself. It certainly is harder to justify this mismanagement of crowds the second time around. By now, the brand is fully aware of the frenzy its “limited drop” model triggers. It also most certainly has to know that there is a well-established playbook for managing high-demand retail events safely and effectively.
For instance, when high street brands such as H&M launch high-profile designer collaborations, they typically implement structured queue systems, give out numbered entry tickets and clearly cordon off zones to prevent congestion and queue-jumping. Staff are deployed to manage the crowds and basic provisions are often distributed to ensure order during long waits.
But in this instance, there appears to have been little visible effort to de-escalate tension or manage crowds, despite full awareness of how limited the initial drops of stock would be. Instead, the impression that onlookers get is that the brand seemed to be perfectly okay with letting the unruliness play out in real time, caught on footage that go viral.
Swatch’s Ion Orchard outlet on Saturday (May 16), during the launch of the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop pocket watch. (Photo: CNA/Baani Kaur)
It is only after the frenzy had boiled over to a fever pitch that the brand reacted with cursory store closures to disperse the crowds – and later blamed shopping centres for it.
To cynical observers, the old adage that no publicity is bad publicity certainly rings true.
This is no way to treat loyal customers and fans of the brand, especially when it would take relatively little effort on Swatch’s part to ensure a more orderly queueing experience. If there ever is a fourth hyped collection, Swatch must do right by their customers by making this experience of buying the timepiece less harrowing.
2. HYPE IS THE ANTITHESIS OF MANY BRAND VALUES
Speaking of hype, there is a lesson here for brands which have traditionally traded on values like craftsmanship, discretion and exclusivity. The hype cycle operates on almost the opposite logic by manufacturing desire through urgency and the promise of bragging rights.
The caseback of the watch is pad-printed with the Royal Pop logo. (Photo: Swatch)
Collaborations like this, along with other high-low tie-ups, are often framed as attempts to democratise luxury by introducing an otherwise unattainable label to a wider audience through a more accessible price point.
But the reality of this particular collaboration has turned out differently. This AP and Swatch partnership feels less like a celebration of horology and more like a parody of this rarefied craft. Based on the braggadocious social media posts of the few who managed to secure a Royal Pop, it appears many are merely chasing the feeling of having “won” access to this watch.
And while some may initially see the visibility generated from the launch as a success, it is also worth asking what are buyers being conditioned to value in the long term.
Do brands want customers driven by the dopamine rush of online flexing and opportunistic resellers capitalising on inflated resale listings – or genuine long-term advocates who care about a brand’s values, heritage and artistry? That kind of authentic appreciation is something that once lost, cannot be easily regained.
3. LOW RETAIL PRICES DON’T NECESSARILY MEAN ACCESSIBILITY
At first glance, a price point of around S$545 for a watch linked to a horology house known for five-figure timepieces may appear relatively accessible.
AP x Swatch Royal Pop in Ocho Negro. (Photo: Swatch)
AP x Swatch Royal Pop in Otg Roz. (Photo: Swatch)
AP x Swatch Royal Pop in Otto Rosso. (Photo: Swatch)
AP x Swatch Royal Pop in Lan Ba. (Photo: Swatch)
But this botched drop has actually traded on something even more valuable than money. The real cost of the Royal Pop is not financial, but a certain degree of self-inflicted humiliation. It is distinctly undignified to see masses of people scrambling over a product launch and acting like hooligans by pushing and shoving just to gain access to the timepiece.
What made the entire spectacle especially bleak was how willingly consumers reduced themselves just for this marketing stunt. And unfortunately for the product itself, the chaos has now become inseparable from the watch.
For anyone even vaguely aware of the launch hysteria, the Royal Pop is likely to evoke thoughts of the viral clips of scuffles, crowd surges and people losing all their composure. That association alone diminishes the appeal of the watch.
4. WE HAVE TO STOP LETTING THE FLIPPERS WIN
There is also an unsavoury by-product of these launches: flippers or scalpers. Judging by the speed at which resale listings appeared after the drop, with many marked up multiple times to around S$4,000, it is reasonable to assume that a significant percentage of the scrum was never made up of genuine buyers in the first place.
Deni, 24, from Myanmar started queuing at MBS on Friday, 2pm. Once he got one, he sold it off right away for an extra S$500. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
25-year-old student He Qiao Mu gave out bubble tea at the MBS queue in the hopes of getting someone to buy one for him. And he succeeded. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
That has changed the character of the queue itself. Once upon a time, lines for special launches were populated largely by enthusiasts and collectors, which made for a more orderly and cordial atmosphere as they were united by interest in the product, not the resale margin attached to it.
Today, the enthusiast has been pushed out, sometimes quite literally, by opportunistic resellers who now treat such launches as arbitrage.
And the hard truth is that scalping persists because enough consumers are willing to pay a high mark-up of retail prices just to avoid missing out. That is the uncomfortable reality at the heart of all of this – the resellers may contribute to the chaos, but it is the buyers who sustain it. Unfortunately, in this situation, it is often the most cynical participants, the resellers, who come out ahead.
5. CONSUMERS NEED TO STOP FALLING FOR IT
There really is only one good way to put an end to this nonsense. Consumers have to accept some responsibility for being willing participants. As the saying goes: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
Lucky owner of the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop pocket watch at Swatch’s Marina Bay Sands outlet on Saturday (May 16). (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
A lucky owner of Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop pocket watch at Swatch's Ion Orchard outlet during the launch on Saturday (May 16). (Photo: CNA/Baani Kaur)
Just like how Swatch should really know better this time around, the same goes for the buyers.
It is now clear that these “limited” collaborations are not truly limited. MoonSwatch stock was repeatedly replenished, with subsequent drops and variations released over time. The same applies to the Royal Pop collection, which Swatch has already said will remain available for several months.
So instead of continuing to be manipulated by brands and scalpers who thrive on engineering a sense of scarcity and feeding the FOMO (fear of missing out), consumers could simply step back and wait for stock to be replenished. JOMO (the joy of missing out), would be far more revolutionary because it removes the very thing that is fanning the flames of this trainwreck: unbridled participation.
Without that, a designer collaboration reverts back to exactly what it was originally intended to be – a watch launch. How revolutionary.
Continue reading...