The Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop collection drew a huge crowd at the Swatch outlet in VivoCity on Sunday (16 May), forcing the outlet to close.
However, this does not appear to be an isolated case, as massive crowds and store closures have also been reported at other Swatch outlets around the world.
The collection, which will be available for several months, launched at selected retail stores worldwide on 16 May.
On its website, Swatch has said queues of more than 50 people “cannot be accepted” in some countries and may cause sales to be paused.
An Instagram post by @thedropdate compiling photos and videos from different Swatch outlets worldwide also showed large crowds in Bangkok, Birmingham, Geneva, Los Angeles, and Japan.
Notably, some of these queues were orderly, with people in Japan queuing in a single file and seats being available for customers in Geneva.
Source: @thedropdate on Instagram
In Thailand, meanwhile, one person appeared to have fallen while also queuing outdoors.
Source: @thedropdate on Instagram
On the other hand, an Instagram video taken from an outlet in London showed the store manager announcing they will not open on the day of the release despite the number of people waiting outside.
The original poster (OP) later posted an update, saying: “They’ve apparently now opened the store with police dogs etc after categorically saying the store will not be opening today”.
Source: @nileeka on Instagram
Despite the huge demand being apparent worldwide, some outlets saw more chaos than others.
In Bangalore, where over 400 people were estimated to have shown up, some people were seen jumping over a planter box in an attempt to cut the queue.
Source: @ananthu_
A video inside the mall showed two men arguing before a guard escorted them out.
Meanwhile, the crowd crammed towards the parking lot entrance of a mall in Mumbai.
Source: @zerxeswadi on Instagram
“They broke down a security checkpoint and got abusive, and were definitely people paid to be in queue,” the OP claimed.
“We are not animals! The store is not opening today,” a man who appeared to be a staff member of the swatch outlet announced.
Source: @zerxeswadia on Instagram
The OP said the poor experience had discouraged him from getting the much sought-after watch.
“The kind of people in the queue, the pushing, the abusing, it just sucked all the joy out of it. I don’t even want that watch anymore… It just wasn’t worth it,” he said.
An even more alarming scene unfolded in Thailand, where crowds pushed toward the mall entrance, forcing some people to break away from the crowd to avoid being crushed.
Source: @bubee_k on Instagram
Meanwhile, outlets with organised queues, including ION Orchard and Marina Bay Sands, continued selling the collection on launch day.
Although the Royal Pop collection is not limited-edition, the sale is limited to one watch per person per day.
Some Carousell sellers also reportedly listed the S$535 to S$570 watches for up to S$10,000.
Also read: Swatch VivoCity outlet closes as crowd rushes to buy AP Royal Pop collab watches
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Featured image adapted from @zerxeswadia on Instagram, @bubee_k on Instagram.