Swatch on Paradise Street was forced keep its doors closed on Saturday morning as hundreds waited
Police were called in after a huge queue formed outside a Liverpool ONE shop this morning. Swatch on Paradise Street was forced keep its doors closed this morning (Saturday, May 16) as hundreds waited outside the doors.
Hundreds gathered for the highly anticipated release of Swatch’s new Royal Pop collection. The collaboration between Swatch and Audemars Piguet was only available in-store, with a limit of one watch per person per day. The £335 watch is already being pre-sold on websites such as eBay for quadruple the price.
A line of security guards formed a barrier across the glass doors to the shop, dividing the store from the thronging queue, which stretched back past John Lewis by 8.30am. First two, then around twenty police officers arrived on the scene, surrounding the front of the queue as the stated 9am opening time came and went.
At around 9.10am, a member of Swatch staff told the crowd: “We’re not opening the shop today. We’re not going to be selling anything. We said this two hours ago.”
Shouts of “Everyone sit down; let’s protest,” and “I’m protesting” were heard from the crowd before it eventually began to disperse around 15 minutes later.
Bystander Roger Scruby, 59, told the ECHO: “I’ve seen releases in town before, but nothing on this scale.
“Someone at the front was trying to sell their spot for £750. I work nearby, and I saw people were down here very early.”
Paula Roberts, 59, from Runcorn, had camped for days to be at the front of the queue. The first 20, who camped right in the middle of Paradise Street, were separated from the rest of the queue by a cordon.
Paula spoke to the ECHO while waiting at the head of the line: “I was one of the first people here. I’ve been here since Thursday. I’m really excited about it”.
Richard Holt, 33, arrived at 1am Saturday (May 16) after travelling from Anglesey with a camping chair to queue for the sought-after watches.
He told the ECHO: “I’m a baker, I’ve been up working all hours before this, so I’ve been up for 32 hours in total. I’m disappointed. I’ve not met a single person in the line who wanted the watch for themselves, they all want to sell it. I wanted it for me, because I like the watch.”
The ECHO approached Merseyside Police for comment.
