The global hysteria that accompanied the launch of the MoonSwatch was unlike anything the watch world had ever seen. Store managers were faced with crowds of thousands. London’s Carnaby Street location opened half an hour before the police were calledIn New York, fights broke out amid rumors of a stab in line. A Swatch store in Singapore was forced to close for 10 days to let the madness subside.
There would have been a very simple way to prevent such chaos: Sell MoonSwatches online. But no, Swatch Group’s decision was that the products, while not limited, would only be sold through a select number of Swatch stores—apparently unaware of the chaos this would create. In short order, MoonSwatches were eBay and other platforms, and received bids of up to thousands of dollars.
What’s important, though, is that in July 2022, when WIRED reveal the story on exactly how Swatch is made Moon clock with Omega in secret, Nick Hayek Jr., CEO of Swatch Group, which owns both Swatch and Omega brand, revealed to our writer Tim Barber that while they didn’t initially sell MoonSwatch online, that wasn’t necessarily the case.
At the time, when asked about the e-commerce future for the watch, Hayek said, “Ask me in four months if e-commerce might play a role… maybe… I don’t know.” Well, it took a little more than four months—more than two years, to be exact—but now there are four versions of the chronograph. appear online along with the ever-popular “add to cart” button.
Four of the original references were selected as the first online products: the classic Mission to the Moon; Mission to Mars, a nod to the Speedmaster Project Alaska Watch; Mission to Earth; and Bright Yellow Mission to the Sun. Sadly, there are no online Snoopy Moon Template Not yet.
However, having only four MoonSwatches available online isn’t the only silver lining. You can currently only buy these watches online from Swatch in two countries: the United States and China. The good news is that the price is still $270 online (which is lower than the $350 or more these watches typically sell for on sites like eBay). To keep out scalpers and bots, shoppers can only buy one watch at a time, and you’ll need to be registered with Swatch.
MoonSwatch has been a phenomenal success for Swatch Group. Interestingly, however, the reversal of the e-commerce strategy for the line comes after the recent announcement that Swatch Group’s stock has fallen after profits down 70 percentIt is believed that the US and China were chosen for the initial online rollout due to the large size of the jurisdictions, making it difficult for customers to access the brand’s physical stores.
Whatever the reason for the change, it’s good news for fans of the collaboration who can’t (or don’t want to) go to a Swatch store and buy the products—it’s just that the newer pieces aren’t ready for your online shopping cart just yet.
