Swatch Closes Stores After Limited Watch Launch Draws Crowds

Swatch closed stores in the UK and several cities in Europe and the US after the launch of a limited-edition watch caused large crowds and disorder. Shoppers waited overnight and in some cases for several days to buy the Royal Pop timepieces, a collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet.

Police were called to stores in Manchester, Cardiff, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Sheffield after large groups gathered. A dispersal order was issued in Birmingham and a man was arrested in Cardiff. In Paris, officers fired tear gas to manage a crowd of about 300 people outside one store.

A metal shutter and two security gates were damaged. Police in the Netherlands intervened at a shopping centre near The Hague after hundreds of people arrived at a Swatch store. Stores in Amsterdam and Utrecht stayed closed.

At the Swatch store in Times Square, pushing and shoving occurred when doors opened. One person who had queued since Wednesday described the scene as a mosh pit. The watches, sold in stores for about $400, appeared on resale sites for several times that amount within hours.

Swatch posted a message on social media urging customers not to rush stores in large numbers and said the collection would remain available for several months.