Earlier this year, the watch industry had its first real taste of sneaker-style hype culture. The MoonSwatch collaboration between Omega and Swatch caused the tectonic plates of the watch world to shift, but while the watches sold out immediately the flow on effects have been significant. Last week Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek confirmed that following the MoonSwatch announcement, sales of Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch have increased by more than 50%, Bloomberg reported.
In many ways, Hayek timed the launch of the $380 MoonSwatch perfectly. The general level of interest in watches and watch culture has exploded over the last half-decade, resulting in supply/demand dynamics that mean it’s nearly impossible to buy a Rolex, Patek Philippe or Audemars Piguet today.
However, with Rolex being the most affordable of that trio with watches starting around the $10,000 mark, there existed an enormous gap in the market beneath that price point, which Swatch was perfectly placed to capitalise on. Combine that with financial stimulus from governments around the world that put money in people’s pockets, as well as two years of global pandemic restrictions that stopped holidaying and eating in restaurants, and you’ve got tens of thousands of excited watch collectors looking for the next new thing.
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Around the world, people lined up for hours just for the chance of buying the new MoonSwatch, with stores selling out almost immediately despite a maximum of two watches sold per customer. With so much scarcity compared to the demand, prices for preowned MoonSwatch watches exploded with some being advertised for $5,000 and more. Even six months on from the release today, prices remain above the original RRP.
However, the real genius of the MoonSwatch launch was to create a watch that looked like an Omega, but cost as much as a Swatch, creating unprecedented levels of awareness and serving as the greatest advertising campaign for the Omega Speedmaster since the 1960’s NASA Space Program. If this was what Hayek had planned from the beginning with the MoonSwatch, it’s been successful beyond belief for sales of the $9,750 Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch to increase by 50%.
While the MoonSwatch remains sold out in almost all locations, Swatch is looking to increase the number of points of sale, rather than wading into the challenges of selling online judiciously. Hayek confirmed that the brand will set up a number of flexible retail locations that move around, as well as plans to increase the number of Swatch stores that sell the watches.
Only time will tell if this strategy will alleviate the shocking level of demand by getting more watches on more wrists, but then again, perhaps the demand is already exactly where Swatch Group wants it.
