The Swiss watch brand Swatch has apologized this weekend via social media and a press release for the character of recent advertisements considered racist. The images showed an Asian model that pulls the corners of his eyes up and back.
The images related to the Swatch Essentials collection and led to a wave of indignant reactions on social media. According to Reuters news agency, some reactions seemed to point out that the images imitated racist insults towards Asian eyes. The advertisements have since been removed.
“We have taken note of the recent concerns about the representation of a model in the images of the Swatch Essentials collection,” the brand wrote in an Instagram message. ‘We take this case very seriously and have immediately removed all the materials involved worldwide. Our apologies for any unrest or misunderstandings that have arisen as a result. “
The company’s share fell by 2.7 percent at the start of the trading day on Monday, before it reduced its losses, according to Reuters. The news agency reminds that the shares of the company have fallen by more than half since the beginning of 2023 and that it now has to do with import duties of 39 percent on its export to the United States.
The group, owner of Swatch, but also of Tissot, Longines and Omega, published a lower profit for the first half year last July: 17 million Swiss francs (18.2 million euros) for the period from January to June, against 147 million francs a year earlier in the same period.
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