Chaotic scenes erupted across the United Kingdom over the weekend as massive crowds gathered outside Swatch stores to buy a limited-edition £335 watch collaboration with luxury Swiss brand Audemars Piguet.
Shopping centres in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield saw huge queues form as customers rushed to get hold of the “Royal Pop” pocket watch, with footage showing crushes, stampedes and police intervention.
According to reports from The Sun, police dogs were deployed outside stores in London as security struggled to contain crowds. Videos shared on social media showed shoppers pushing through packed entrances and surging towards shopfronts as doors opened.
One dramatic clip filmed at Battersea Power Station in London showed officers and security staff attempting to control crowds gathering outside the Swatch store. In Cardiff, shoppers were seen stumbling and falling over each other in scenes described as “mob-like”.
Police were called to several locations during the disorder, with one person reportedly arrested in Cardiff.
The frenzy was fuelled by the release of the new Swatch and Audemars Piguet collaboration, priced at £335 — far cheaper than traditional Audemars Piguet watches, which can sell for tens of thousands of pounds.
Resellers quickly began listing the limited-edition timepiece online for prices reportedly reaching £16,000.
Swatch later confirmed that some stores had been temporarily closed due to safety concerns as crowds overwhelmed shopping centres.
The company said on Instagram that closures had been introduced because of “safety considerations” following the overwhelming demand for the watch release.
The scenes sparked widespread reaction online, with many social media users comparing the queues to major product launches and concert stampedes.
