Swatch Closes Stores Amid Frenzy for Royal Pop Pocket Watches Swatch, the Swiss watchmaker, abruptly closed dozens of its global stores on Saturday as crowds overwhelmed locations in major cities worldwide, attempting to purchase the highly anticipated Royal Pop pocket watches from its collaboration with luxury timepiece maker Audemars Piguet. The decision came after authorities intervened at multiple sites, including London, New York, and Manhattan, to manage the chaotic scenes caused by shoppers eager to secure the colorful, pop art-inspired watches priced between $400 and $420. The closure was announced via social media posts, with Swatch stating that over 30 stores were shut down “in view of public safety considerations.” The Royal Pop collection, a limited collaboration between Swatch and Audemars Piguet, was set to launch globally on Saturday. The eight watches, inspired by Audemars Piguet’s iconic Royal Oak luxury line and Swatch’s 1980s POP series, were marketed as an accessible way for fans to own a piece of the luxury brand. Despite Swatch’s warnings on its website and social media pages—urging customers not to “rush to our stores in large numbers” and clarifying that the collection was not a limited edition—thousands of shoppers disregarded the advice. In New York, hundreds of fans gathered at Swatch stores in Times Square and SoHo, leading to at least one arrest by the New York Police Department. Similar scenes unfolded in cities like Paris, London, Dubai, Toronto, Atlanta, and Detroit, where lines stretched for hours. The King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania delayed its opening until noon due to the sheer number of people attempting to access the Swatch stores, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.#new_york #times_square #swatch #audemars_piguet #philadelphia_inquirer
