Swatch apologizes for ‘slanted eye’ ad after – Business News
Swiss watchmaker Swatch issued an apology over the weekend and pulled adverts that featured an Asian male model pulling the corners of his eyes in a “slanted eye” pose.
The photographs for the Swatch Essentials assortment have been broadly condemned online in China, the place many mentioned they appeared to imitate racist taunts about Asian eyes.
Shares within the company fell as a lot as 4% on Monday earlier than paring losses to commerce 3.1% decrease.
The photographs for the Swatch Essentials assortment have been broadly condemned online in China, the place many mentioned they appeared to imitate racist taunts about Asian eyes. Swatch
“It is very significant for a brand of that scale to misfire in this way,” mentioned Mark Borkowski, who runs a public relations consultancy in London. “This carelessness is really quite a fundamental mistake.”
In an apology posted in each Chinese and English on its Weibo social media platform on Saturday, Swatch mentioned it had “taken note of the recent concerns” and eliminated all associated supplies worldwide.
“We sincerely apologize for any distress or misunderstanding this may have caused,” the assertion mentioned. It additionally posted the identical apology on Instagram.
Swatch declined to remark past its assertion.
The marketing campaign resulted in a backlash on social media.
In an apology posted in each Chinese and English on its Weibo social media platform on Saturday, Swatch mentioned it had “taken note of the recent concerns” and eliminated all associated supplies worldwide. Swatch
“When I saw this news, I was quite shocked. Swatch has been in the Chinese market for many years, and I feel like most people are familiar with the brand,” mentioned 23-year-old scholar Justin Zhao. “I don’t know why they did it. They were able to somehow release this after going through numerous approvals.”
Borkowski mentioned Swatch needed to analyze how the ad acquired the go-ahead from executives.
The incident is the most recent setback for a firm whose shares have fallen by more than half since early 2023 and which is going through a 39% tariff on its exports to the United States.
Swatch, which additionally makes Omega, Longines and Tissot watches, relied on China, Hong Kong and Macau for round 27% of group gross sales final yr.
Swatch, which additionally makes Omega, Longines and Tissot watches, relied on China, Hong Kong and Macau for round 27% of group gross sales final yr. REUTERS
Revenue for the watchmaker slumped 14.6% to six.74 billion Swiss francs ($8.4 billion) in 2024, hit by a downturn in demand in China, the place Swatch mentioned it was seeing “difficult market conditions and weak demand for consumer goods overall.”
Peter Xu, a fashion influencer in China with over seven million Weibo followers, mentioned he believed the controversy would affect Swatch’s business in China, however given the velocity of the apology, the fallout was more likely to be short-lived.
“It was pretty stupid to release images like those ones,” he mentioned.
($1 = 0.8065 Swiss francs)
