After huge crowds gathered last weekend at the Swatch store in Oakbrook Center mall ahead of a planned product release, officials said the incident was handled as well as possible.
The large turnout caused the store to be closed Saturday and remain closed through the weekend.
The feeling was that most of the people in the crowd were there to purchase the Royal Pop Collection, a collaboration between Swatch and watch brand Audemars Piguet, with plans to buy it for about $400 and resell it online for at least $1,000.
“The response to the Royal Pop Collection has been phenomenal worldwide, and demand is extremely high,” a spokesperson for Swatch stated in an email. “In around 20 Swatch stores, out of a total of 220 stores globally, where the Royal Pop was launched, challenges arose on launch day because the queues of interested customers were exceptionally long, and the organization of some shopping malls was not sufficient to handle this level of turnout.”
But according to Oak Brook village President Larry Herman, it would have been impossible for Oakbrook Center management to plan for this.
“This release was unannounced to the mall management and our police department,” he said. “I commend our police department for an immediate and orderly response to de-escalate the crowd that had gathered for a limited Swatch timepiece. The actions taken by the officers on duty, and officers from nearby departments that assisted, ensured there were no injuries from a crowd that was becoming increasingly anxious and rowdy.”
Oak Brook police had no additional comment this week beyond a news release it issued Monday.
According to police, officers from the department responded about 2:47 a.m. Saturday to a disturbance near the Swatch entrance at Oakbrook Center, adding that people gathered for a new product release, and the crowd continued to grow while refusing to comply with directions from mall security personnel.
Due to the size of the crowd, mutual aid assistance was requested, and the crowd eventually overwhelmed the barricades and surged through the mall toward the entrance to the Swatch store, police said.
Along with social media posts Saturday about some stores remaining closed for the day, Swatch also posted, “To ensure the safety of both our customers and our staff in Swatch stores, we kindly ask you not to rush to our stores in large numbers to acquire this product,” and that the Royal Pop Collection will remain available for several months.”
Lindsay Kahn, senior director, public relations for Oakbrook Center management, said Thursday there would be no comment on anything related to the Saturday morning incident.
“We are grateful to our security officers and partners at law enforcement for their diligence and professionalism,” she said.
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
