Waiting queue at Swatch X Omega store

[khalifam]

Does anyone know what the current queue situation is?

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[planemad]

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid...05046949732661

[shammad10]

Originally Posted by planemad

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid...05046949732661

Says photo not available. Got another link or sacreenshot?

[monsieur_z]

People are camping 3 hours before the opening, in one of the two stores selling the watches in Singapore.

I was planning to go have look this morning, but I guess I will pass.

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[Old Expat Beast]

People have been queuing overnight in Hong Kong, outdoors, in the rain. Not surprising though. Seems to be like this all over SE Asia, too.

[HMHM]

I’m betting my last penny that a lot of these people will list it up for sale in a week to two for 2x MSRP. This is gonna be the greatest pump and dump of the Swiss watch industry

[BlondesNwatches]

Haha, everyone looking to make a quick sale next week! Guess a lot of people have plenty of time on their hands to get one to try to resell.

[GB-man]

It is what it is I guess.

[LVx2]

It's a 270$ Omega Speedmaster, I see the appeal.

[macrowatch]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

People have been queuing overnight in Hong Kong, outdoors, in the rain. Not surprising though. Seems to be like this all over SE Asia, too.

It’s really interesting to see the PR strategy unfold.

Also found it interesting SE Asia dominating Google search trends for this watch. With HK #1, but all the usual suspects like Taipei, SG etc all top 10.

[Reelandy]

Toronto store has 100+ people outside the mall as at 9pm. Good times.

Definitely waiting for these to be sold online on the Swatch website


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[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by macrowatch

It’s really interesting to see the PR strategy unfold.

Also found it interesting SE Asia dominating Google search trends for this watch. With HK #1, but all the usual suspects like Taipei, SG etc all top 10.

For many, this is about the most exciting thing to happen in HK for a couple of years, sadly.

[JonaG]

I had the thought to head over to Shibuya, Tokyo this morning. A rare night out last night put an end to that idea. I’d imagine the Shibuya store is mental right now.

[amanbra]

seems like there were some embarrassing scenes in Aus... hope the rest of the world do better... we did have fights over toilet paper so i guess no one should be surprised...

[swatty]

Crazy, there is already one listed on eBay here at $2300.00

[monsieur_z]

This is hilarious There has been a mini-riot when a SA declared all the watches are sold out. People complained they let hundreds queue for hours, while the store knew they only had much more limited stocks. PR stunt turning sour?

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[Lol-x]

Generally you get what you pay for.

I can understand the attraction to the general population given the price tag.

Its brilliant marketing, 11 colourful variations with a solar system theme.

I haven't seen the movement, I'm guessing its quartz, so it is a Swatch with an Omega branding.

[PeepingTime]

Flipping is the only reason to wait in that line

[alllexandru]

[Lol-x]

These watches are not limited edition....they will make millions...

Omega raising its horological status to the likes of Casio

[alllexandru]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

These watches are not limited edition....they will make millions...

Exactly this.
In one month everyone will have one (nice move Omega/Swatch )

[Heady Topper]

I like the concept of the release. Not liking the manufactured hype around it:

- Two per person with roughly 150 per store
- Invite all watch media to private event
- Acts surprised at interest
- Drops limit to one

Yeah, okay

[TimeAZ]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

These watches are not limited edition....they will make millions...

Omega raising its horological status to the likes of Casio

Bingo! Hahah

These lines are unreal. And here I am skipping the gas lines at Costco because they are too long, would rather just pay an extra $15 and spare myself the 30 minute wait.

[TimeAZ]

Imagine waiting in this line and then being told all your top choices were sold out, but never fear you're in luck -- if you'd like you can have the Venus

[Fleetlord]

I have to give Swatch Group credit....they finally got the memo on building hype.

It's pretty easy actually, just takes some out of the box thinking and some "guts" to execute it. That being taking their iconic Speedy reference and allowing SWATCH to make a "cheap" version of it. That must have been a very unsettling thought....

BUT

It's exactly what works to get the hype train going....and hype is SOOOOO IMPORTANT to brands now. Like it or not, it just is.

Keys to success.

1) Low Key Retail. Great price that will allow for the perception of "value" when secondary market pricing blows that up...like "Supreme" or other HYPE wear.

2) Limited distribution...at least initially. Not limited editions, but limit WHERE they are available...only Swatch stores..but not all Swatch stores...etc etc

3) Social Media blitz. Drives FOMO. Many cannot be left out on this, whether to make a few bucks or to be "cool".

So, overall it's a great move by SWATCH group. Question is, what will they do with it next?

[francoamerican]

This is great for the watch hobby. I don’t expect there will be add to cart availability that doesn’t sell out in minutes for quite some time if ever. They’re taking a page for the Jordan model I would bet. The secondary mark up right now is the same percentage as blnr; about 250% of MSRP

It’s identical to Rolex - just “kids” instead of “grown ups”

[dshin525]

Here is my review of the experience in Seoul.

I was checking weather and it called for rain. I thought that this was a good thing as this may keep many people away.

I headed out at 6:15, grabbed a cab and arrived at the store at 6:30. This was the line when I got there.



So I was about 25th in line, which pretty much would ensure that I would get one.

About 10 mins after I got there, one of the workers came to to tell the the people in line that there is no use in waiting. What happened was people started lining up the evening before. Because it called for rain all night, the management decided to give out numbers to those in line, as well as take their names. They gave out 70 numbers because they thought they would get about 140-150 watches.

But this deterred no one. Everyone still remained in the queue. And as time passed, it got longer and longer.



This was around 8am. By 10am (store opened at 10:30) the queue went around multiple blocks. It was probably 1000+ people...perhaps close to 2000. And then there was a separate queue for the 70 who had gotten a #.

Also, there was word circulating that purchases will be limited to 1 per customer. This was posted on swatch's instagram page. If this was the case, I would almost definitely be assured of one since I was ~90-95 in line (including the 70 with numbers).

Then when the store opened, it was apparent right away that they were going to let people buy 2.

Also, the store would only let in 1 (or 2 if they were together) at a time. They then had to have their temp taken and sanitize their hands. This made everything go ridiculously slow. After an hour, only about 30-40 people had completed their purchase.

There were a few incidents that made the wait more bearable. There was a guy heckling the people as they were walking about of the store after purchase, calling them names. A fight almost broke out a few times and olice had to be called to keep the guy away.

One guy, who had a number, wasn't there for his turn to enter the store so he was refused entry. He threw a tantrum and tried to bull rush into the store. Police had to restrain him...and after about 20 mins, he left. During this time, no one was allowed to enter the store, slowing down an already painfully slow process.

One guy with a number entered the store...but his name was not registered. This is because he bought the # from someone else. So he threw a tantrum and held up everything for 15 mins before he finally left.

Finally, around 1:30pm (7 hours after I had gotten there) they said they were sold out an started telling everyone to leave. I do believe that a couple people who had numbers weren't able to buy as well.

This pissed off A LOT of people, especially those who had been there all day (some as early as 5am). They started demanding that they hand out numbers for everyone who still remained in line. Workers were trying their best to apologize an calm everyone down but people weren't having it. I really did feel bad for the employees as they really have no control over how the day went.

When it was all said and done, after standing in line for 7 hours, I came away empty handed. This is me with my sad face



And seeing them in person really makes me want them even more!


Would I do this again? Absolutely! This took me back to the days when I was a sneaker head lining up for the newest releases. Today I met a bunch of really cool people with similar interests and will probably stay in touch with a couple of them....which is a similar experience I had back in my sneaker days. The store said that they will get more in stock later next week so may just drop by then and see if I get lucky.

I hope others had better luck!

[PeepingTime]

What a great story. I’ve always loved Swatch. I’m enjoying this.

[djona]

Great story from Seoul. Hoping you are able to pick one up soon.

[mquarter]

I mean just imagine the collective smell, BO of the group queueing in places like Hong Kong and Singapore. Gross