The disastrous Swatch x Audemars Piguet launch was entirely predictable and entirely avoidable

The memo from the communications team then, quite remarkably, lists some statistics in an attempt to portray the launch in a positive light, as opposed to what appears to have been: “We’ve received millions of clicks on our website. This new collaboration is literally making social media explode, with over 6 billion views in the space of one week; and now, the number of views has already reached 11 billion. Overall, the Royal Pop Collection is captivating the entire world, not least because the Royal Pop is, very surprisingly, not a wristwatch.”

Audemars Piguet appears to be unhappy with the way Swatch handled the launch of its collaboration with Royal Pop. The AP told WIRED: “We understand the questions surrounding the Royal Pop launch experience. Since retail operations are handled by Swatch and its local teams, Swatch is in a better position to comment on the operational handling of the launch. From the AP’s perspective, safety and a positive experience for customers and teams remains the priority.” The brand did not respond when asked whether it considered Swatch’s handling of the Royal Pop launch a “safe and positive experience.”

The insanity of the Royal Pop launch is that, given everything that could have been learned from releasing MoonSwatch in 2022, Swatch decided to repeat the playbook that went terribly wrong four years ago. This is a step that, according to experts, was completely avoidable and completely unnecessary.

Noise with no control

“Luxury drops cannot rely on surprise, rarity, and social madness as a strategy, and then act surprised when human behavior follows suit,” says Kate Hardcastle, author of “Luxury Drops.” The science of shopping and a consultant for brands including Disney, Mastercard, Klarna and American Express. “Retailers are already dealing with rising tensions around theft, aggression and crowd management globally. Add highly restricted product, long lines, the economics of resale, social media amplification, and the emotional intensity associated with access to luxury products, and the environment can escalate very quickly if not expertly managed.”

What’s particularly difficult for Swatch here is that the MoonSwatch launch already provided a vivid blueprint for the risks, Hardcastle emphasizes. “Once a brand sees scenes involving growing crowds, disillusionment, and policing, the commitment shifts from responding to proactively engineering a safer customer experience,” she says. “Successful luxury houses are increasingly controlling the experience with much greater precision.”

Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at Global Data, is more blunt. “The chaos does not reflect well on Swatch, and may make Audemars Piguet wonder what on earth it has gotten itself into,” he says. “The desire to create some hype is understandable, but not being able to control it becomes commercially and damaging to the brand’s image. Swatch should understand this better than most as it did before with MoonSwatch.”

Not just Saunders and Hardcastle, but dozens of commenters on Swatch’s Instagram post, point to well-known and obvious solutions that could have mitigated or altogether avoided the Royal Pop’s shameful launch.

“We’ve seen other premium or limited launches that use staggered collection windows, verified appointment systems, geo-ticketing, VIP personalization levels, timed QR access, private customer previews, and controlled queue technology to reduce volatility while maintaining excitement,” says Hardcastle, adding that some combine digital ballots with curated in-store experiences so consumers feel like they are part of an occasion rather than participants in a stampede.