The party is over, and so are the riots.
Swatch had a terrible weekend, closing stories because there were massive fights and rioting in front of its stores.
The reason? Their Royal Pop pocketwatch made in collaboration with Audemars Piguet.
The watch comes on a plastic lanyard, not a strap, although clever entrepreneurs are quickly manufacturing their own bands.
Now, to assuage the insanity Swatch has put the Pop online. You can but it for $400.
You can check what stores have it in stock easily, without having to line up in the middle of the night.
This kills the collectors market. Right now there are a lot of posts on ebay and elsewhere selling the Pop for thousands of dollars.
But that will be over by the end of the day. Swatch has plenty of these trinkets in stock.
What turned this marketing plan into an international melee? This was worse than the crazy demand for “Marty Supreme” jackets a few months ago.
Swatch was deliberately dense about giving information in advance. They purposely let the situation grow out of control to get their name back in the news, even if it meant losing sales over the weekend. Whoever devised this mischief should get a marketing award!
Anyway, the Royal Pop is not worth $400 even if Audemars name is stamped on it. I’d say wait a few months and pick it up for 100 bucks.
BTW, on Canal Street in New York they’re already got the knock off for 15 bucks. Sold!
Why does the black and white one look like an Oreo?
