The boss of Swatch has defended its latest launch after stores and shopping centres faced overcrowding and disruption from hordes of customers seeking to buy the timepiece.
Chief executive Nick Hayek Jr told the BBC there had been “overcrowding like hell” at some of its stores for the Royal Pop pocket watch, but said the firm “clearly communicated that this is not a one-day event” and production would continue for months.
He said: “Having crowds at the beginning of the launch of [a] product should not be bad news, it should be something that is good news.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Hayek added: “Most of the authorities, they co-operated with us from the beginning and also most of the shopping malls. And there, where they co-operated with us from the beginning, it went well.”
He said “there can be certain situations that are tense and everybody did their best, but sometimes you cannot control everything”, adding that he believed the launch overall had been “extraordinary”.
Demand for the watch, which costs from £335 and is not available to buy online, led to police attending St David’s 2 shopping centre in Cardiff in response to reports of about 300 people trying to get in to a Swatch store at 6.20am on Saturday.
A 25-year-old man from Pengam was arrested and issued with a Section 35 dispersal notice.
Officers were also sent to the Trafford Centre in Manchester and “dispersed a large number of people”, Greater Manchester Police said.
Swatch posted on Facebook on Saturday saying “in light of safety considerations for both our customers and our staff” stores in Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Glasgow and Cardiff would be closed for the day, along with all of its London stores.
It posted later on Saturday saying: “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.
“The Royal Pop Collection will remain available for several months. In some countries, queues of more than 50 people cannot be accepted, and sales may need to be paused.”
The watch combines Swatch’s 1980 pop-art style with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet’s octagonal bezel at a price far below the thousands of pounds the latter’s products normally command.
Swatch said only 20 out of 220 stores globally were affected.
