27/05/2026

LYFE WEDNESDAY | MAY 27, 2026 23 Taking page out of Labubu’s, Nike’s, Popeyes’s playbook

S WISS watchmaker Swatch and luxury partner Audemars Piguet are betting big on a Gen Z “product drop” culture – buzzy, often limited launches that have helped spur sales from Labubu dolls and Nike trainers to Popeyes’s chicken. The maker of popular colourful watches has stirred debate – and seen some punches thrown – with a product launch of its Royal Pop pocket watch collection with Audemars Piguet, which forced it to close some shops and limit queues. In Milan, shoppers outside a Swatch outlet ended up in a scuffle, video verified by Reuters showed, to get their hands on the Pop Art style watches blending the retro look of Swatch and elements of the far pricier Audemars Piguet. Marketing experts and analysts said, fisticuffs aside, the ploy could pay off for Swatch, which is facing investor pressure over its strategy. “From a marketing perspective, this is absolute gold for Swatch,” said Roman Pavlyuchenko, marketing assistant professor at England’s Bath University, adding the furore could create a “halo effect” for the brand. Other companies have done similar in the past, sometimes with some controversy. Nike and Adidas trainer launches have led to police being deployed while in 2019, US fast food chain Popeyes launched a fried chicken sandwich so coveted that it led to violent confrontation and a fatal stabbing. Despite that incident, the sandwiches drove a 38% increase in Popeyes’s fourth-quarter same-outlet

o Swatch, Audemars Piguet betting on Gen Z hypebeasts to make sales sales in 2019 and Apex Marketing Group estimated Popeyes got US$65 million (RM258 million) in free media exposure as a result of the so-called “Chicken Sandwich Wars”. Similarly, a cult-like craze for Labubu monster-elf plush toys last year prompted distributor Pop Mart to pause all in-store sales in Britain. Still, the Beijing-based company said its 2025 revenue rose 185% from a year earlier. “I mean, how many Labubus are there, right? And everyone’s trying to collect them. It’s whether they take that as a positive or a negative... but it allows people to have a little piece of Audemars Piguet,” said Simon Lazarus, PR and content head at online luxury watch platform Chrono Hunter, adding Swatch-Audemars

People queue outside a Swatch outlet ahead of the launch of the limited-edition Royal Pop watches. – PICS FROM REUTERS

for months. The “drop culture” of releasing limited-edition products in small quantities emerged as a retail strategy for underground streetwear and sneaker brands in the 1990s. Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have subsequently come along and amplified trends and encouraged rapid rushes for collectables. Swatch had marketed the tie-up – linking its pop culture with Audemars Piguet’s 150-year history – as rule breaking and “positive provocation”. Audemars Piguet hailed how it could reach younger generations while admitting it divided opinion.

shopping malls was not sufficient to handle this level of turnout,” the spokesperson said. Guido van Garderen, London School of Economics senior marketing professor, said there was an element of herd mentality and people did not want to miss out on the £335 (RM1,779) watches – expensive but far cheaper than an Audemars Piguet. “We know from behavioral science that it is difficult to walk away from a queue,” he said. Swatch asked people to “not rush to our (outlets) in large numbers to acquire this product” and reassured them the watches would be on sale

Piguet were creating a viral moment. The Royal Bank of Canada estimated that Swatch’s Royal Pop sales could give a 3% uplift to revenue this year, although UBS said this would not offset its broader structural challenges. ‘Literally making social media explode’ A Swatch spokesperson said the Royal Pop collaboration “is literally making social media explode”. “Challenges arose on launch day because the queues of interested customers were exceptionally long and the organisation of some

Audemars Piguet & Swatch Royal Pop watches on display at a Swatch shop.

In war-scarred Gaza, brides turn to refurbished wedding dresses IN a small sewing workshop in southern Gaza, Nisreen Al-Rantisi pulls fabric from a pile and reshapes worn wedding dresses, trying to keep a fading tradition alive amid war and soaring costs. dresses and many search instead for places that refurbish gowns and other kinds of clothes for their children. wedding dresses, as key factors behind the shortages and price hikes. Many workshops have also been damaged during the conflict. Rantisi, adding work initially relied on a bicycle-powered sewing machine due to electricity shortages. Rantisi said she used to buy the fabric for about 120 to 150 shekels (RM163 to RM203) before the war, but now pays around 500 shekels. Importers cite delays, high shipping costs and restrictions on materials, such as the crystals encrusted into the elaborate “We try to reuse the old gowns that we have, produce them by fixing them a bit, work on them, wash them, arrange them, shape them,” said Families said they have been struggling to find new wedding

“This has caused a big rise in the cost of bridal dresses and children’s gowns. We are living in a vicious circle from the war that affected us,” she added. Cogat, the Israeli military agency that controls access to Gaza, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Most of Gaza’s more than two million people have been displaced, many now living in bombed-out homes and makeshift tents pitched on open ground, roadsides or atop the ruins of destroyed buildings after Despite the hardships, some couples still find ways to celebrate, with mass weddings held in Gaza offering a rare moment of joy amid the devastation. Shop workers say the war has driven prices beyond reach. “Before the war, prices were reasonable for everyone. But now, two years of war with Israel. High prices beyond reach

A Palestinian woman helps a young girl try on a dress at a shop. given the circumstances we’re in, the price of a dress is ridiculous,” said Rawan Shalouf, a bridal shop employee. Across Gaza, brides and families are struggling to afford even basic wedding needs. Shahed Fayez, 21, is due to marry in about four days but has been searching in vain for a dress. “I don’t care about its style, what’s important is that it’s new. The cheapest dress is US$1,000 (RM3,973) or more, that’s the minimum, and all we have is less than US$200. “The entire dowry does not cover the price of a dress,” she said. – Reuters

A wedding dress is displayed outside a shop next to debris and

damaged buildings. – PICS FROM REUTERS