Boycott of the brand has been encouraged, to the point that Swatch has already apologized
The Swiss Swatch Watch Manufacturer apologized and removed an advertisement that showed a model to pull the corners of the eyes.
The image generated accusations of racism in China, leading to boycott requests that quickly spread to Chinese social networks. Many social networking users harshly criticized the gesture of “eyes in beak” made by the Asian model, classifying it from offensive and racist.
Swatch announcement. (Swatch.com)
In a post on Instagram and Chinese social network Weibo on Saturday, Swatch recognized “recent concerns regarding the model’s presentation” in the announcement and said it had removed promotional content worldwide.
“We have sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or misunderstanding that may have caused,” the company said.
Despite this answer, many users remained dissatisfied and appealed to the boycott of the brands belonging to Swatch Group, which includes Blancpain, Longines and Tissot.
A weibo user with more than one million followers accused the company of “racism against the Chinese” and suggested that he was the target of sanctions by regulatory authorities. Others accused Swatch of deliberate discrimination and asked consumers to stop supporting the brand.
“The brand image was collapsed. [A Swatch] Do you think just apologize to save everything? It’s not that simple, ”wrote another user on the Chinese platform.
China is one of the main markets of Swatch Group. However, like many other western luxury brands, they have faced difficulties to maintain growth. With the slowdown of the world’s second largest economy, many consumers have preferred more affordable brands.
In July this year, the group reported a 11.2% drop in net sales in the first half of the year, assigning this retreat exclusively to the decrease in demand in the Chinese market.
Still, Swatch was not the first western mark to face accusations of racism in China.
In 2018, the Italian luxury brand Dolce & Gabbana was the target of harsh criticism after release promotional videos where a Chinese model smoked hashish and, caricatured, ate Italian food with Chinese chopsticks.
In a similar case, in 2023, the French brand Dior generated controversy by publicizing an ad in which a model pulled the corner of his eye.
