AP x Swatch Royal Pop: Audemars Piguet Reports Record Online Sales
According to a report by the U.S. magazine Bloomberg, Audemars Piguet CEO Ilaria Resta says there has been an overwhelming response to the “Royal Pop” collaboration, which was recently launched in partnership with the Swatch brand.
“Our website recorded more than ten times as many visitors in a single day as it usually does in an entire year,” said Audemars Piguet CEO Ilaria Resta in an interview with Bloomberg Television about “Royal Pop.”
But it wasn’t just the Audemars Piguet website that generated a lot of interest. The launch of the “Royal Pop” caused such a rush worldwide that some Swatch stores had to close for safety reasons, while others were unable to open at all. Demand on the secondary market was also enormous, far surpassing the debut of the “MoonSwatch” in 2022.
Resta urged buyers to be patient and explained that the “Royal Pop” would remain available for several months. Swatch had made a similar statement after the company was forced to close about 20 of the 220 participating stores at the launch because shopping center operators were unable to handle the crowds.
However, neither company has yet specified exactly how long the watch will be available. There is a rumor circulating in the industry that production could be discontinued after eight months.
The partnership between Audemars Piguet and Swatch came as a surprise to some industry experts, as the exclusive watchmaker is known for its brand strategy based on scarcity. According to a joint report by Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult, Audemars Piguet sold approximately 50,000 watches last year, and production is set to be expanded to around 60,000. By comparison, Swatch sold around 4.4 million watches, according to the report.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Ilaria Resta explained that the partnership is part of a broader strategy to attract younger buyers and new customers—at a time when the watch industry is under structural pressure. “No one needs a watch to tell the time,” she said.
