Skip to content

Swatch shuts stores after crowds queue for new watch

Rumeana Jahangir
News imageBBC Hundreds of people wait in a queue snaking back from the shop entrance on a pedestrianised street. Glass fronted stores line the road on both sides.BBC
Hundreds of people queued outside the Liverpool branch on Saturday morning

Swatch has closed its stores in cities across the UK after hundreds of people queued outside branches eager to buy a new limited edition watch.

The Swiss firm said it would not open its branches in London "in light of safety considerations for both our customers and our staff".

Stores in Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield will also remain closed with a man arrested in Cardiff.

The firm had been due to launch its new Royal Pop pocket watch collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet, with eight models priced from £335.

However the watch has been put on resale online for up to £16,000.

Better known for its colourful watches from the 1980s, AP Swatch has described the items as "a disruptive collaboration between two icons of Swiss watchmaking".

BBC News has contacted the company for comment.

News imageSwatch A modern pocket watch with the words Royal Pop branded on the face in yellow. Dials can be seen behind the glass face, which is frame by yellow and pink outer rings.Swatch
The Royal Pop pocket watches have been eagerly anticipated by many fans

In the Liverpool One retail area, some shoppers had been camping for two days outside the Paradise Street store.

Merseyside Police said it had received a report "a group of males were acting in an aggressive manner and making threats" outside the shop at about 07:00 BST on Saturday.

"Officers attended and the crowd dispersed shortly afterwards," a force spokesperson said.

News imageInstagram/Swatch Screengrab of Swatch's Instagram with its posts saying stores were shut.Instagram/Swatch
Massive queues shut stores in Cardiff, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, London, Sheffield and Glasgow

Meanwhile, South Wales Police said it was called at 06:20 on Saturday with a report of approximately 300 people trying to enter the St. Davids shopping centre.

The force said: "A 25-year-old man from Pengam was arrested and issued with a Section 35 dispersal notice with the conditions that they are not to enter Cardiff city centre again during Saturday 16 May."

News imageEPA Scores of people sit and stand as they wait outside a store with various watch firms branded on a store window. There is tree inthe middle of them.EPA
Fans have also been queuing for days outside the Tokyo branch

Queues had also been building up outside Swatch's branches internationally, including in New York where watch enthusiasts had been camping for a week, with reports that some had become unwell during the wait.

The firm also cancelled its launch event at Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates following a large turnout.

News imageEPA A line of people stand or sit on the pavement outside the headquarters, which has a shiny metal curved exterior.EPA
Queues have been building up next to Swatch headquarters in Biel, Switzerland

Swatch has said the new watches were inspired by the Pop Art movement of the 1950s and 60s and combined "joyful boldness and positive provocation" with watchmaking.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.

Related stories