A Liverpool One store had to close its doors due to overwhelming queues.
Swatch’s branch in the popular city centre shopping district remained shut on Saturday (May 16) after huge lines of potential customers formed outside.
The watchmaker had planned to launch eight models of its new ‘Royal Pop’ pocket watch in collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet.
However the £335 watches were already being pre-sold online for quadruple that figure with some marketplace listings seeking as high as £16,000.
Several people at the front of the queue on Paradise Street had camped out for several days in attempts to be among the first in line for the products.
But police had to be called after reports of men in the crowd ‘acting in an aggressive manner and making threats’ when the shop did not open at 9am.
A member of Swatch staff confirmed to those queuing that they would not be opening the store and were ‘not going to be selling anything’ on the day.
Swatch’s stores in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Sheffield also remained shut due to the overwhelming demand nationwide.
The company confirmed in social media posts that it had taken the decision ‘in light of safety considerations for both our customers and our staff’.