Swatch Closes Manchester and Liverpool Again Over Swatch Pocket Watch

Swatch shut stores in Manchester and Liverpool for a second day after shoppers queued again for the swatch pocket watch collaboration priced at £335. The closures followed a Saturday launch that brought large crowds to selected stores worldwide.

Swatch asked people not to rush to its stores in large numbers and said the items would remain available for several months. That message has not stopped the immediate pressure at the Manchester and Liverpool branches, where queues returned after the first round of closures.

Royal Pop Launch

The company launched its Royal Pop pocket watch collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet at selected stores worldwide on Saturday. Swatch described it as a disruptive collaboration between two icons of Swiss watchmaking, and the rollout quickly became crowded in several places.

Swatch closed many shops in cities across the UK on Saturday because of safety considerations. An event was cancelled in Dubai, police officers were called to launches in France and Switzerland, and shoppers in New York camped in Times Square for a week.

Manchester And Liverpool

In Cardiff, one man was arrested. Police were also called to reports of people making threats outside the Liverpool store, adding a local security issue to a launch that already drew heavy demand.

The pressure is sharpened by the resale market around the watch. Some of the pieces were being offered online for up to £16,000, far above the £335 retail price, which helps explain why queues returned even after Swatch said stock would stay available for months.

For shoppers in Manchester and Liverpool, the practical result is simple: the stores were shut again, and access to the collaboration has already been shaped by crowd control rather than normal retail hours. The demand has been strong enough to trigger closures, and Swatch’s own advice not to rush has become the clearest signal for anyone still hoping to buy one.