Royal Pop watch won't return to Swatch stores for now after chaos at Netherlands outlets
Swatch has withdrawn its popular new Royal Pop watches from all stores in the Netherlands and sent them back to headquarters due to safety concerns, following large crowds that caused store closures this weekend, the watch brand confirmed to NL Times. It is not yet clear when the Royal Pop collaboration with Swatch-owned luxury brand Audemars Piguet will return to store shelves.
A spokesperson for the brand said they expect to receive new stock for the retail locations, but it is not clear when. For now, it is up to Swatch leadership at their Swiss headquarters to decide the next step in the product launch.
One Swatch employee in Utrecht told AD on Tuesday that the Royal Pop watches were returned to Switzerland because of days of unrest. "That is for the safety of the personnel and the customer," the employee said.
A notice on the Utrecht store window states the inventory was returned "to safeguard the safety of both our customers and our employees." The watches will only return when they can be sold "in a safe and fun way," the employee added.
The Royal Pop pocket watches, priced around 385 euros, is a mash-up of the Pop Swatch line of fast fashion pop-art watches with the signature octagonal design of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, which was also released as a pocket watch decades ago. The Royal Pop represents a far more accessible version of Audemars Piguet pieces that normally cost tens of thousands of euros. Sales were planned for three Dutch locations: Amsterdam's P.C. Hooftstraat, Leidschendam's The Mall of the Netherlands, and Utrecht.
Hundreds gathered by Saturday morning, forcing all three Dutch stores to stay closed. Enthusiasts and resellers overwhelmed the sites. In Utrecht, lines formed overnight in the Lange and Korte Elisabethstraat, with some camping in tents. Police intervened to control the crowds. The Utrecht store has since reopened with security guards at the door.
At the time, a 17-year-old in the queue at the PC Hooftstraat location said he saw the release as a quick profit opportunity. “There aren’t any jobs where I can make money this quickly,” he told NOS on Saturday.
“I just want to resell it as soon as possible. I think I could get around 10,000 euros for it, and the watch only costs 400—so do the math.”
Even though the chaotic scenes meant Swatch outlets in the Netherlands had to remain closed on Sunday and Monday, Swatch CEO Nick Hayek Jr. defended the global launch in comments to the BBC, acknowledging "overcrowding like hell" at some stores. He emphasized that the company had "clearly communicated that this is not a one-day event" and production would continue for months.
"Having crowds at the beginning of the launch of a product should not be bad news; it should be something that is good news," Hayek Jr. said. He noted that most authorities and shopping malls cooperated from the start, and "where they co-operated with us from the beginning, it went well."
He added, "There can be certain situations that are tense, and everybody did their best, but sometimes you cannot control everything." Overall, he described the launch as "extraordinary."
Only about 20 of 220 stores worldwide faced challenges, according to the company. Similar problems occurred in cities including London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, Glasgow, Cardiff, Dubai, Singapore, and Japan.
In Utrecht, local business owner Daan Broekman, whose clothing store neighbors the Swatch location, received an apology and flowers from Swatch, RTV Utrecht reports.
He criticized the company's preparation. "We are neighbors across the street. We knew this was coming. Friday morning, we were warned," Broekman said. "When I arrived Saturday morning, I was shocked by the crowds. It was completely full with three to four hundred people. We were not aware that there would be so many. I think Swatch wasn't either."
Broekman reported graffiti on his property and people urinating and defecating against the facade, calling the mess "unacceptable." He said he is proceeding with a damage claim.
Utrecht officials said Swatch did not apply for a permit. "A permit is not necessary in all cases, but in this case, it would have been good to apply for one," a spokesperson said, noting the public nuisance caused.
Hayek Jr. also said he does not criticize resellers who have flipped the watches for much higher prices. "If somebody thinks instead of keeping it for his passion, he is reselling it; this is happening in the luxury market all the time."
