Zerxes Wadia’s Saturday morning started feeling like a side quest gone horribly wrong when he realized he was competing with a horde of relentless people, all angling for a chance to cop a watch.
The Indian content creator arrived at the Phoenix Palladium mall in Mumbai at 5 a.m. to buy a piece from the viral Audemars Piguet and Swatch “Royal Pop” pocket watch collection.
He found himself shoulder-to-shoulder with hundreds of people who had the same idea, all packed into a seemingly endless queue outside the Swatch store.
The rush to get one of the eight colorful pocket watches, priced around $400 each, on May 16 turned really ugly, really fast.
Things quickly took a chaotic turn at around 8:30 a.m., when he said people started jumping barricades, running in, and breaking a security checkpoint.
Because access to the mall had been restricted, some people booked the padel and pickleball courts on-site to try to gain entry.
“People were buying movie tickets to random movies to enter via the cinema,” Wadia said, adding that it was fun to see the ingenuity of fans around him.
But Wadia said there were scalpers and resellers in the queue, not just fans. The launch event was eventually canceled because of the chaos. He said he “walked out disappointed.”
Wadia was one of thousands of people stuck in snaking queues outside Swatch stores all around the world, from Singapore to New York City. Although the watch companies said the collection would remain available for “several months,” fans treated it like a limited-edition drop.
Swatch tried to control the chaos, saying in a press release that queues of more than 50 people would not be allowed and that sales may need to be paused.
“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,” Swatch said after the launch.
An Audemars Piguet spokesperson told Business Insider that given the “scale of public turnout observed in certain markets,” Swatch had to delay the launch for safety reasons.
Swatch did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
A collab primed for younger customers
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The collaboration was curated for a younger, more fun-loving, and less affluent customer base.
Compared to Audemars Piguet’s most popular watches — its Royal Oak line goes for more than $40,000 — the “Royal Pop” pocket watch collection rests snugly in the aspirational luxury category.
The watches feature the octagonal face belonging to Audemars Piguet’s iconic “Royal Oak” watch, but with funky color combinations like yellow and pink, and orange and blue.
They come attached to a leather lanyard, making it a bag charm — a Gen Z-favorite accessory. Jade Rasif, a Singaporean DJ and YouTuber, posted a TikTok swapping out the Pop Mart’s viral Labubu on her Hermès Birkin for a black “Royal Pop” pocket watch.
Molly Frampton, a strategy director at New York-based brand consultancy Interbrand, said the collaboration is a “bold opportunity for both brands: to stretch, expand, and have a bit of fun.”
The collection is tailored for younger aspirational customers who are aware of Audemars Piguet’s heritage, but “could not fork out thousands of pounds for one of their watches,” said Vicky Bullen, the CEO of London-based branding agency Coley Porter Bell.
Tear gas doesn’t scream luxury
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In a store in Paris, French police deployed tear gas to break up the crowd. Fights broke out in a Milan store line.
“Nothing says ‘luxury horology’ quite like police dogs and tear gas, right?” said Eugene Tutunikov, the CEO of secondhand luxury watch retailer SwissWatchExpo.
“While the hype is a marketer’s dream, getting pepper-sprayed isn’t exactly the premium customer experience anyone is looking for when trying to buy a timepiece,” he added.
Tutunikov said selling an accessible watch like the “Royal Pop” collection dilutes Audemars Piguet’s brand. Rolex did something similar to appeal to an aspirational customer base, but with a lower-priced product in its stable, the “Tudor,” Tutunikov said.
“Tudor” watches typically cost around $5,000. A higher-tier Rolex model, such as a Daytona, starts at $19,000 and can go up to $75,000, according to the California-based watch retailer Bob’s Watches.
If Rolex had chosen Audemars Piguet’s approach, Tutunikov said it would have been akin to launching a “neon plastic Daytona.”
Bullen said that customers queuing for hours only to go home empty-handed would likely “have a bitter taste in their mouth toward Swatch, and possibly AP as well.”
Power in scarcity
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Chaos can be a valuable brand-building tool in the scarcity economy, Bullen said.
Scarcity has been the name of the game in recent years for collectibles such as watches, toys, blind boxes, and even Trader Joe’s tote bags.
In an era when consumers are on the hunt for small luxuries, companies are relying on limited-edition drops to boost their street cred — even if it means long lines and scuffles.
Joshua Ganjei, the CEO of Boston-based watch retailer European Watch Company, said the commotion during Saturday’s launch was unfortunate, but drove a lot of coverage toward Audemars Piguet.
“I’m sure AP is quietly very pleased with how the whole thing unfolded,” Ganjei said.